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BRAZIL AND HER PEOPLE 
OF TO-DAY 




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BRAZIL AND 
HER PEOPLE 
OE TO-DAY 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE 



CUSTOMS, CHARACTERISTICS, AMUSE- 
MENTS, HISTORY AND ADVANCEMENT 
OF THE BRAZILIANS, AND THE DE- 
VELOPMENT AND RESOURCES OF 
THEIR COUNTRY 



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BY 



NEVIN 0: WINTER 

Author of " Mexico and Her People of To-day." 
" Guatemala and Her People of To-day, 1 ' etc. 



ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL AND 9ELECTED 
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR 




BOSTON * ^ L. C. PAGE 
AND COMPANY * MDCCCCX 



t /3\ /!\ /JK/SS< tab. AS. /^/^£^jBQ^aS^a&. /IV /IV /iVUV/Tiy ZlfaJ!PhM%JaSJB&J^/J&. vi 



Copyright, 1910, 
By L. C. Page & Company 

(INCORPORATED) 

All rights reserved 



First Impression, September, 1910 



Electrotyped and Printed by 
THE COLONIAL PRESS 
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



©CLA271S65 



PREFACE 



The favourable reception given by the public 
to the two previous books, ' ' Mexico and Her 
People of To-day " and " Guatemala and Her 
People of To-day,' ' induced the writer to con- 
tinue his studies of the Latin- American coun- 
tries and people. To this end an extensive trip 
was made through several of the republics on 
that great continent to the south of us, and this 
work is the first result of that journey. Like 
the previous books it is presented as a study of 
the country and people from the most reliable 
authorities, as well as a record of impressions. 
In its preparation many books have been read 
and scores of people, Americans, Europeans 
and Brazilians, have been consulted and inter- 
viewed. The author's purpose has been to 
present this treatise upon a neighbouring re- 
public and study of our fellow Americans from 
a broad viewpoint, and avoid the narrowness 



vi 



Preface 



of some writings in which everything different 
or unfamiliar is deemed a fit subject for caustic 
criticism. With this brief explanation of the 
purpose of this book, and method of its prep- 
aration, " Brazil and Her People of To-day " 
is given to the public. 

The author desires to acknowledge his sense 
of obligation to Hon. Irving B. Dudley, Ambas- 
sador of the United States of America to the 
United States of Brazil, for courtesies and 
favours extended to the author ; to Hon. John 
Barrett, Director of the International Bureau 
of the American Republics for kindly words of 
introduction; and to the Bulletin, issued by 
the Bureau, for permission to use three or four 
photographs as illustrations in this book. 

Toledo, Ohio, August, 1910. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGH 

I. The Country 1 

II. Along the Coast to the Capital ... 23 

III. The City of Beautiful Views ... .48 

IV. Around and about the Bay .... 77 
V. Minas Geraes and Mining 91 

VI. A Progressive State 109 

VII. An American Colony under the South- 
ern Cross 134 

VIII. The Temperate Zone 142 

IX. The Amazon 164 

X. The People and Their Characteristics . 192 
XI. Education and the Arts 214 

XII. Railways and Their Development . .236 

XIII. Coffee 260 

XIV. The Land and Sea Forces .... 277 
XV. Religious Influences 287 

XVI. The Empire . . . . ... .304 

XVII. The Republic 330 

XVIII. A Land of Promise 353 

Appendices 371 

Index 383 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Picking Coffee (see page 267) .... Frontispiece 

Map 1 

Falls of Iguasstj 10 

The Municipal Theatre, Pernambuco .... 26 

The Boat Landing, Bahia 30 

Rio de Janeiro. Looking across the Bay at Sugar 

Loaf 41 

The Paulo Affonso Falls 46 

Avenida Central, Rio de Janeiro 53 

ONE OF THE BENDS OF THE BeIRA MAR, RlO DE JANEIRO 55 

The Landing at Rio de Janeiro 57 

Carigadores moving a Piano 65 

The Treasury Building, Rio de Janeiro ... 67 

The City Hall, Rio de Janeiro 69 

The " White House " of Brazil 71 

Clusters of Bamboos in the Jardim Botanico . . 83 

An Ox Team of Minas Geraes 92 

Rua Direita, Sao Paulo 114 

Buzzards at the Market, Sao Paulo . . 116 

The Ypiranga 118 

General view of the Immigrant Station at Sao Paulo 120 

The Picturesque Fazenda da Lapa at Campinas . 126 

" Monte Alegre " Fazenda 129 

A Rubber Plantation of Manicoba Rubber Trees 133 

View in Villa Americana 136 

A Brazilian Fruit Market. Melons from Villa 

Americana . . 138 

ix 



x List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Loading Coffee at Santos Docks 145 

Cutting Rice with an American Harvester . . 146 
Selling Cattle in Rio Grande do Sul . . . .156 

View of Porto Alegre 159 

A Scene on the Amazon near its Mouth . . .174 

A New Settler in the Jungle 189 

Negroes in Brazil . . .'• ■ 195 

Labourers' Homes on a Plantation .... 201 
The Fifteenth of November in Sao Paulo . . .212 

A School for Boys in Sao Paulo 216 

A School for Girls in Sao Paulo . . . .219 
Students at the Agricultural College, Piracicaba 225 
The Municipal Theatre, Rio de Janeiro . . . 233 
The Municipal Theatre, Sao Paulo .... 234 
The Sao Paulo Railway, near Santos .... 256 

Drying Coffee . 268 

Church at Nictheroy 295 

The Beautiful Church at Juiz de Fora. A Shrine on 

Top of the Mountain 299 

A Typical Brazilian Street . ... . . . 308 

A Mud and Thatch Cottage ...... 316 

A General View of Bahia 323 

A Rural Home 330 

A Brazilian Cruiser 342 

A Farmer's Home 353 




MAP OF BRAZIL 



] 



BRAZIL AND HER PEOPLE 
OF TO-DAY 



CHAPTER I 

THE COUNTRY 

* * Norte - Americano, ' ' politely suggested a 
Brazilian to me in the course of a conversation, 
and I accepted the correction. 

" We also are Americanos," he continued. 
After that I was very careful to make the dis- 
tinction, although in an unguarded moment 
it would sometimes appear. " Ingles " or 

Norte- Americano/' would sometimes be 
asked, although the most of the Brazilians can 
spot the " Yanqui," as he is called with all 
due respect. It is said that our former Sec- 
retary of State, during his circular tour around 
South America, was very careful in all his 
speeches to call himself a North American, and 
this one little distinction aided in increasing 
his popularity. It is often the delicate little 

l 



2 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



recognition that pleases these Latin people, 
who are themselves full of flattery and com- 
pliments. It is time for the people of the 
United States, especially as they are now enter- 
ing upon an era of commercial conquest, to 
recognize that these people of the great conti- 
nent south of us are just as much entitled to 
the use of that term, of which they are likewise 
proud, as we ourselves are ; that though these 
people are Brazilians, Argentinians, Chileans, 
etc., they consider themselves first and fore- 
most as Americans, in order to distinguish 
themselves from Europeans, Asiatics and Afri- 
cans. We can say to them: " We are North 
Americans, you are South Americans; but we 
are all Americans, and proud of our homes in 
this great, glorious and promising continent.' ' 

The vastness of Brazil is not fully realized. 
The geographical maps of South America are 
usually drawn on a smaller scale than those of 
the United States, so it is not generally known 
that the United States of Brazil are larger than 
the United States of America, exclusive of 
Alaska and the island possessions. From the 
most northerly point to the extreme southerly 
boundary is a distance of two thousand six hun- 
dred and seventy-five miles. For the sake of 



The Country 



3 



comparison one might say that if our own At- 
lantic coast line was prolonged in the same 
way it would reach from the southernmost ex- 
tremity of Florida to the Hudson Bay region of 
upper Canada. It extends from four degrees 
twenty minutes North Latitude to thirty-three 
degrees forty-five minutes South, or thirty-eight 
degrees in all. The last ten degrees are below 
the Tropic of Capricorn and in the temperate 
zone. From a point near the city of Recife, 
or Pernambuco, to the most westerly point, is 
a distance of two thousand seven hundred and 
twenty-nine miles. From there the country to 
the south narrows continuously, until it is but 
a few hundred miles wide in the state of Rio 
Grande do Sul. A line drawn west from near 
the city of Bahia, or Sao Salvador, would give 
about the medium width. Rio de Janeiro is in 
longitude nearly half-way across the Atlantic 
from New York to London, while the eastern- 
most land, Cape San Roque, is still seven hun- 
dred miles farther to the east. Within these 
confines is a territory of three million three 
hundred and thirty-two thousand seven hundred 
and thirty square miles, according to the best 
estimates, and this makes it the fifth country 
in the world, being exceeded in extent only by 



4 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



China, the British Empire, the United States 
of America and Russia. 

On the South American continent Brazil eas- 
ily ranks first, as it occupies almost one-half 
of the entire surface of the continent, and is 
three times as extensive as its next largest 
neighbour, the Argentine Republic. The other 
republics of South America follow in the fol- 
lowing order: Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ven- 
ezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. 
The frontiers of this immense republic join 
those of all the other republics, except Chile, 
and also touch the borders of British, French 
and Dutch Guiana, the only foreign possessions 
on the mainland of this great continent. With 
one or two little exceptions the boundaries have 
now been settled by arbitration, so that the 
future will probably make little change in the 
limits as now outlined. It is shut off from com- 
munication with the Pacific coast by the lofty 
Andes, and that at least partly accounts for 
the lack of development in the western part of 
Brazil. In all, Brazil's coast line amounts to 
about four thousand miles, all of which is on 
the Atlantic, and this includes nearly two- 
thirds of her entire boundary line. It would 
take a fifteen knot steamer ten days of con- 



The Country 



5 



tinuous steaming to travel along this entire 
coast. 

It was a surprise to me to find that it is next 
to impossible, except in the basin of the Ama- 
zon, to get away from the mountains. Hill and 
valley alternate everywhere, rarely rising to 
great heights, however, except along the coast, 
and seldom sinking into great crevasses or 
canons. The highest mountain in Brazil, Ita- 
tiaia, between Eio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, 
has an altitude of only nine thousand eight hun- 
dred and twenty-three feet, while the extreme 
height of the peaks in most of the ranges sel- 
dom exceeds four thousand five hundred feet. 
The highest range is in general confined to a 
belt, or chain of mountains, which follows the 
Atlantic shore, lying at the most but a few miles 
from the coast, and at times reaching clear to 
the water's edge, which is known as the Serro 
da Mar. This range runs from Pernambuco to 
tfye borders of Uruguay, so that the coast, wher- 
ever seen from the sea, presents only an outline 
of mountains and serrated peaks, although at 
the extreme south they scarcely exceed the dig- 
nity of hills. The rise from the water's edge 
is frequently very abrupt, and this has made 
the problem of railroad construction from the 



6 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



seaports to the interior a difficult as well as 
expensive proposition. 

The broadest plains are probably in the 
states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul, where 
they assume the appearance of pampas, and it 
is on those plains that the stock-raising indus- 
try has assumed its greatest proportions. 
Much of the states of Matto Grosso and Ama- 
zonas has been practically unexplored, so that 
the maps of those regions are, for the most 
part, guesswork, made up from the reports of 
travellers and amateur scientists, who have 
written reports of their travels through them. 
On the government maps one will find the out- 
lines of rivers which are many miles away from 
the location given them, and the names of 
towns will appear in the heavy type given only 
to places of great importance ; and yet, if any 
settlement exists at all at that point, it consists 
only of a few huts or a little Indian village. 
Although travellers have visited those sections, 
the land is untouched by the hand of man, and 
as virgin as our own western prairies were a 
half century ago. This land is mostly claimed 
by families who have never set foot upon it, 
and yet it has been the cause of deadly feuds 
among rival claimants ; some basing their title 



The Country 



7 



upon ancient Portuguese grants, and others 
upon more recent ones by the republic. There 
are no roads that can be utilized by commerce, 
and only the waterways exist to give access to 
the outside world. 

Brazil is a land of great watercourses. It 
not only has within its borders the greatest 
river in the world, but it also possesses several 
rivers which form the chief tributaries of the 
Rio de la Plata, another of the most extensive 
fluvial systems in the world. Because of the 
coast range of mountains nearly all of the 
water, even from within a few miles of the 
Atlantic coast, runs hundreds and even thou- 
sands of miles north to the Amazon, or south 
to the La Plata, before finally reaching the 
ocean. The great amount of the rainfall has 
made these streams numerous, as well as very 
broad, as they near their outlet. Between the 
sources of the two great systems there inter- 
vene but two short leagues of swampy ground, 
which are the common source of the Amazon 
and the La Plata, the " river of silver,' ' as it 
is named. The basin of the Amazon is larger 
than the basin of the Mississippi, the Missouri 
and many others together. It is as large as 
two-thirds of our own great land. The amount 



8 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of water discharged is almost incredible. For 
hundreds of miles from its mouth the depth 
sometimes reaches one hundred and fifty feet, 
and in no place in the channel is it less than 
sixty feet. Its mouth is wider than the entire 
length of the lordly Hudson. Ocean steamers 
run between Iquitos, two thousand five hundred 
miles from its mouth, and European ports, as 
well as New York ; and many of its tributaries, 
such as the Madeira and Negro, are mighty 
rivers in themselves. The Parana, with its 
wonderful cascades, and the Uruguay, have 
their origin in Brazil, and the Paraguay drains 
many thousands of square miles of her terri- 
tory. These three rivers form the principal 
sources of the Rio de la Plata, which carries to 
the Atlantic Ocean a volume of water exceeded 
by few rivers in the world. 

On the western side of the Atlantic ridge the 
country forms a series of ridges, or plateaus, 
making, as some one has characterized it, a 
colossal stairway. These sudden drops make 
many fine waterfalls as the waters rush onward 
toward the Parana River. The states of Sao 
Paulo and Parana are especially rich in these 
cascades and rapids, and thus furnish unlim- 
ited water power awaiting development. They 



The Country 



9 



are no less interesting to the tourist, for noth- 
ing in nature is more interesting or fascinating 
than a fine waterfall, where the waters rush 
headlong in their precipitous course. The 
Tiete River alone furnishes many of those cas- 
cades, one of them, the Itapura, having a height 
of forty-four feet. Another is the Urubu- 
hunga, near the former, the water passing over 
the two being of great volume. 

All of these waterfalls, however, are over- 
shadowed by the wonderful falls of the Iguassu, 
situated on the river of the same name, near 
its junction with the Parana River, and on the 
borders between the republics of Brazil and 
Argentina. A dozen miles away the smoking 
columns of mist which crown the falls are 
plainly visible, and its thunderous roar may 
sometimes be heard for twenty miles. As one 
approaches nearer, the mist is more plainly 
seen and the roar of the waters is heard. The 
first view of these magnificent falls in their sol- 
itary grandeur is inspiring. They have the 
same general shape as Niagara, and are fifty 
feet higher. The entire falls are more than 
two miles in width, with a number of islands 
dividing the cataract. This may be divided 
into two sections, the Brazilian and Argentine 



10 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



falls. The head falls are on the Brazilian side 
and occur on an acute horseshoe bend, some- 
what similar to that at Niagara, which is 
caused by the unequal erosion. Below the falls 
are depths which a hundred fathom line has 
failed to sound, and the natives call them bot- 
tomless. There is a triple leap of three hun- 
dred and twenty feet, the last one alone being 
a drop of two hundred and thirteen feet over 
sheer precipices of dark rock. At the present 
time it is difficult of access, because it is 
reached by ascending the Bio de la Plata and 
Parana River, a journey of almost two weeks, 
or by a several days' journey overland from 
Ponta Grossa, in the state of Parana. Some 
day, when the means of communication become 
better, it will no doubt be visited by thousands 
of people each season. It still remains in all 
its primitive beauty, for the hand of man has 
as yet done nothing to detract from or add to 
what nature herself created. It is like another 
Niagara set out in the midst of a wilderness, 
with dense lines of waving bamboo or other 
trees marking the boundaries of the stream. 
Like Tennyson's Brook, the Iguassu might say: 

" For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever." 



The Country 11 



Above these falls on the Parana are the won- 
derful Guayra falls, one hundred and twenty- 
five miles above the junction with the Iguassu ; 
and four hundred miles still farther up are the 
Uberaponga falls, with many smaller cataracts 
intervening. Below Guayra cataract the cur- 
rent piles up in the centre with a corkscrew 
action, and then dives down again into mid- 
stream. It returns to the surface in eddies 
which leap up twelve or fifteen feet in the air, 
making, as one scientific investigator terms it, 
" rapids with which the whirlpool rapids of 
Niagara are a quiet duckpond in comparison." 
One is lost in considering this frantic water 
power here awaiting the harnessing by man. 

Of the climate of Brazil much has been said 
in a disparaging way. It has been classed as 
a tropical country, and therefore subject to all 
the ills supposed to be connected with such a 
climate. And yet the climate is so varied that 
the subject can not be dismissed in a single 
paragraph. It is hot in places, but even in Rio 
de Janeiro the evenings are generally very 
pleasant and comfortable, the thermometer 
usually going down to about sixty degrees 
Fahrenheit. At least one can always find it 
so by establishing his home a few hundred feet 



12 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



above the sea level, on one of the adjacent hills. 
I doubt if the people of Eio suffer from the 
oppressively hot nights as much as New York- 
ers or Chicagoans, and I was there in Decem- 
ber, supposed to be one of the hottest months. 
Fifteen hundred to two thousand feet above 
the sea level the climate is really delightful, 
and one need not pity the people who dwell 
there. Some one has said that the whole coun- 
try might be compared to a beautiful Tennes- 
see, without the rigours of winter. Along the 
Amazon it is hot and humid, and yet I have met 
Englishmen who had lived in Manaos and Para 
for years, and who sighed to go back to those 
places because they loved the climate. In the 
southern states of Parana and Rio Grande do 
Sul the climate is about the same as Argentina, 
which is regarded as temperate. 

There is plenty of rainfall everywhere ex- 
cept in two or three states, almost underneath 
the equator. On the Atlantic coast it ranges 
from one hundred to two hundred inches annu- 
ally. Along the Amazon it is much greater, 
and on the inland plateaus it will probably 
average seventy-five inches per year. Thus, in 
the vast area of Brazil, almost every variety 
of climate will be found, except the extreme 



The Country 13 



cold, which is absent. It used to be thought 
that people could not live so near the equator, 
but proper hygiene takes away all danger of 
the so-called tropical diseases, so dreaded by 
most people from colder climes. 

As one writer has well said: " Diseases in 
cold climates are always looked upon as calam- 
ities quite independent of climatic conditions; 
even if ignorant of their causes, pathologists 
always had an explanation ready. In the case 
of warm countries, it is otherwise. Without 
any further inquiry the climate has been blamed 
as the enemy. The European nations drew 
around themselves sanitary cordons of quaran- 
tine and disinfection against cholera, yellow 
fever and plague, and for a long time never 
thought of going right to the source of trouble 
and improving sanitary conditions in the coun- 
tries where these diseases had their origin." 

It has really been a base libel upon these coun- 
tries to blame everything upon the climate and 
climatic conditions. The heat and humidity may 
make some diseases more fatal, but at the same 
time they seem to act as preventative to others 
which are far more fatal in colder climates. 
The United States taught the world this lesson 
at Havana and in Panama, and it has been a 



14 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



valuable one for the world. Brazil has wa- 
kened up to this necessity, and now Santos, 
Bahia, and other cities, as well as the capital, 
have followed a cleaning-up policy that has 
brought the death-rate down to where it will 
compare favourably with other cities of the 
world. 

The United States of Brazil is a republic 
very much like the United States of America 
in form. Its constitution is modelled after that 
of the United States, a Portuguese translation 
of which was made for them. It differs, how- 
ever, in some respects. A president, for in- 
stance, is ineligible to succeed himself; and 
even a vice-president, who has succeeded to the 
presidency, can not be a candidate for that 
office without a term intervening. The power 
of the national government is less than that 
of our own, and the state has greater impor- 
tance. This condition was made almost neces- 
sary in the formation of the republic in order 
to gain the adherence of many of the states, 
as they aimed to get as far away from the cen- 
tralization idea as possible. The great dis- 
tances separating them likewise, and slow com- 
munication between them, has encouraged these 
differences. In many respects the state gov- 



The Country 15 



ernments are too powerful, and the national 
government too weak. Each state has its own 
army, although in a measure subject to the 
national government, but this local militia is 
more loyal to the state than the national gov- 
ernment. The unoccupied land is the property 
of the various states, instead of the national 
government as with us, and this has contrib- 
uted in making the state governments of un- 
usual importance. 

The republic is composed of twenty states, 
one territory and the Federal District, in which 
is situated the national capital. The states are 
very uneven in size, the largest being Ama- 
zonas, with more than a million square miles 
of territory, one-third of the whole, and Ser- 
gipe having only about twenty-five thousand 
square miles. Out of the total population of 
about eighteen million, more than one-fifth live 
in the state of Minas Geraes, while the great 
state of Amazonas contains only about one per- 
son for each five square miles of territory. The 
state of Matto Grosso, second in size and also 
colossal, has even a smaller ratio of population, 
according to the statistics, which are probably 
not very accurate on these little known states. 
Sao Paulo has heretofore been the most power- 



16 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



ful state, and Eio Grande do Sul has had the 
most checkered history, for its German inhab- 
itants have not always been in harmony or 
sympathy with the Latins, who predominate in 
the other states, and they have maintained sev- 
eral uprisings on their own account. 

The republic was established on the 15th of 
November, 1889, and there have been six presi- 
dents elected. The term of office is four years. 
A vice-president is elected who serves in the 
event of the death or incapacity of the Presi- 
dent; the present President having succeeded 
to the office on the death of Dr. Affonso Augusto 
Moreira Penna, in June, 1909. The National 
Assembly is composed of a Senate and House 
of Deputies. Each state and the federal cap- 
ital are entitled to three senators who serve 
for nine years, and a deputy is allowed for each 
seventy thousand inhabitants, with a minimum 
of four for any state. The congress now con- 
sists of sixty-three senators and two hundred 
and fifteen deputies, one-third of the former 
being elected every three years. Each state 
has its own president, congress, cabinet and 
other officials, almost identical with the federal 
officials. The qualifications for suffrage are 
quite generous; but only a small proportion 



The Country 17 



of those qualified actually vote at the elections, 
which are always held on Sunday, and gener- 
ally in the churches. It is safe to say that on 
those days the religious services do not claim 
much attention. There is generally a clique, 
or oligarchy, in each state, which dominates 
political affairs. These men absolutely dictate 
the matters of the state and represent the af- 
fairs of that state in national politics. Cor- 
ruption is quite a common thing, but that the 
farther up one goes the less of it is to be 
found is my belief. The several presidential 
administrations have been good, but many of 
the municipal administrations have followed 
crooked paths openly. 

" Ordem e Progreso," order and progress, 
is the motto of the Eepublic of Brazil. The 
flag consists of a green rectangle, representing 
the vegetable kingdom, with a diamond-shaped 
yellow block in the centre, representing the 
mineral wealth. In the centre is a blue circle, 
which corresponds with the blue of the skies, 
with the above motto across it. Within the 
blue circle are twenty-one stars, representing 
the twenty states and federal district, five of 
which are grouped to represent the constella- 
tion of the Southern Cross. The coat of arms 



18 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



contains the same colours and emblems ar- 
ranged in an artistic design, and with some 
other insignia added. 

The developed part of Brazil is only a small 
part of the whole country. It constitutes a 
fringe along the Atlantic coast, and bears about 
the same relation to the whole country as the 
original thirteen states do to the United States 
as at present constituted. There are few large 
cities, but numerous small towns of from five 
to twenty thousand, and many villages are scat- 
tered over the land. No part is overpopulated, 
the most densely populated being the states of 
Alagoas and Eio de Janeiro, with an average 
of perhaps twenty- three to the square mile, and 
there is no danger of even those states being 
overpopulated for some time yet. In a land 
where all the year around is a growing season 
this is a very small population, even consider- 
ing the mountainous character of most of the 
country. If peopled as densely as France, 
Brazil would have a population of not less than 
three hundred and twenty million. It is almost 
purely an agricultural country, although some 
advancement has been made in manufactures 
through government encouragement and high 
customs duties. Especially has this been true 



The Country 19 



in cotton goods, and there are many small fac- 
tories of these textiles scattered over the land, 
most of them run by the water power which is 
so abundant in most sections. Some other fac- 
tories have been started through concessions 
being granted, but by far the greatest part of 
the goods used are imported from the manufac- 
turing nations of the world. This governmen- 
tal assistance causes many of the factories to 
feel that to some extent they are government 
enterprises. The same policy has been fol- 
lowed with railroads of guaranteeing returns 
instead of making grants of lands, which would 
be an incentive to the railroad to aid in devel- 
opment. The Sao Paulo-Eio Grande Railway 
is one exception to this rule, and it is prosper- 
ing. The Central Railroad, which has over a 
thousand miles of main track, is owned and 
operated as a government institution, and this 
method has not been a success any more than 
the Lloyd Brazilian line of national steamers. 
Money goes in from all sources, but the gov- 
ernment treasury is compelled every year to 
make up deficits. 

Brazil was discovered in the year 1500 by the 
Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral, 
who took possession of it in the name of his 



20 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



sovereign. It was first named Terra de Santa 
Cruz, the Land of the Holy Cross, but the name 
was changed to that of the dyewood which had 
been in nse before. The French soon after 
began to trade with the natives, but they were 
driven off by the Portuguese. The Huguenots 
of the country likewise attempted to establish 
a free religious colony at what is now Eio de 
Janeiro, but this attempt was also frustrated, 
and Eio did not become an important place 
until the middle of the eighteenth century. The 
Jesuits sought to make a religious settlement 
out of Sao Paulo, but the energetic " Paulis- 
tas " rose in their might and drove them into 
the Spanish territories. 

The Portuguese began to colonize the coun- 
try, and established a number of settlements 
along the coast. Pernambuco was founded in 
1526 and Bahia in 1549, as compared with New 
York in 1614 and Boston in 1621. The country 
was divided into fifteen capitaincias, each with 
fifty leagues of coast, and stretching inland in 
parallel lines to the westernmost limits of the 
country. These were granted by the king to 
Portuguese nobles. Numerous struggles took 
place with the Spaniards, who tried to seize 
all of South America, and were in actual con- 



The Country 21 



trol of nearly all of the rest of the South Amer- 
ican coast. The political outline was finally 
determined by natural configurations. The 
Portuguese kept in control of the district pene- 
trated by the Amazon and its tributaries, as 
far as they were navigable, and the Spaniards 
got control as far as the Eio de la Plata was 
navigable on the south ; and between these two 
boundaries the land was kept in the hands of 
the Portuguese. Where navigation was im- 
peded on the Paraguay, Parana and Uruguay 
Eivers, there Spanish domination ended. On 
the remainder of the coast the Spaniards main- 
tained their supremacy, except the small Dutch, 
French and English settlements in Guiana. It 
speaks well for the indomitable perseverance 
of a small country like Portugal that they ac- 
quired and maintained for three centuries such 
a vast empire, when the mother country is 
smaller than one island at the mouth of the 
Amazon. 

When King John brought his court over to 
Brazil, in 1809, a national spirit was engen- 
dered. After he returned to Portugal, it was 
not long until an independent spirit arose and 
revolution was in the air. Then came a new- 
world empire, during which the Dom Pedros, 



22 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



I and II, reigned. Each was expelled from the 
country; the first with rejoicing, the second 
with sadness, and, perhaps, many a tear. When 
one considers that the republic only reaches its 
majority in this year of 1910, and that slavery 
was abolished only twenty-two years ago, both 
of these changes being accomplished without 
bloodshed, the progress of the country can be 
better understood, and many of its shortcom- 
ings more easily overlooked. Furthermore the 
early advance of the country was stunted by 
the lust for gold of the first Portuguese col- 
onists. Everything was sacrificed to immedi- 
ate results, in order that they might return 
to the homeland and live in luxury. It was 
different from the motive that influenced either 
Puritan or Cavalier in our own land, for they 
sought liberty. The evil effects of this early 
exploitation have been felt during the interven- 
ing centuries, not alone in Brazil, but through- 
out all of South America. 



CHAPTER II 



ALONG THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL 

It is a delightful journey of a little more 
than two weeks from New York to the capital 
of Brazil. In a little more than twenty-four 
hours after leaving that metropolis, even in the 
middle of the winter, the vessel is ploughing 
through balmy seas, and the passengers are 
sitting on the spacious decks of the comfortable 
steamers with all wraps discarded. As the 
route of these steamers is east of that of ves- 
sels bound for the Caribbean seas, few boats 
are sighted, and day after day is passed with- 
out the sight of a sail. For thirteen days our 
ship, the Vasari, sailed through stormless wa- 
ters, with only one full-rigged schooner coming 
within our horizon, and no land to be seen. 

It was not until near the equator that even 
a rain storm clouded the skies, and then fleet- 
ing showers chased each other across the skies, 
and peals of thunder and flashes of lightning 
occasionally created a diversion. The sunsets 

23 



24 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



were wonderful. As evening approached, dark 
clouds seemed to gather near the horizon; the 
sun slowly approached them, and then dropped 
suddenly out of sight. Streaks of red and 
crimson, silver and gold shot out, and these 
diffused and melted into each other with the 
constant variations of the kaleidoscope. The 
contrast of bright hues with the dark, ominous- 
looking clouds was striking. There was no twi- 
light, and darkness immediately followed. It 
was the time of the full moon also. Just a little 
while after the setting of the sun the moon 
would rise on the opposite side of the boat. An 
immense and luminous ball the Queen of the 
Night appeared, and rapidly climbed up over 
the bank of clouds; and then, as it dwindled 
in size, it increased in brilliancy, until the dan- 
cing waves were covered with a silvery sheen. 
Never have I seen such beautiful scenes as we 
witnessed for several nights when near the 
equatorial line. 

Watches were changed each day since we 
were constantly travelling eastward, as one 
will see by consulting a map. New York is 
situated in longitude seventy-four degrees west, 
while the easternmost coast of Brazil is in 
longitude thirty-five degrees west. At last the 



Along the Coast to the Capital 25 



sandy shores of Rio Grande do Norte are 
sighted, and the vessel rounds Cape San Roque. 
Far out at sea little sails appear in considera- 
ble numbers, and when near enough to see them 
it is found that they are simply rafts made of 
logs fastened together. These are the 66 cata- 
maran " fishing boats, from the port of Per- 
nambuco. The adventurous boatmen will some- 
times venture out a hundred miles to sea in 
these simple and frail-looking crafts, and they 
are seldom lost. 

Pernambuco, or Recife, is the first port at 
which the transatlantic steamers stop, and it 
is either here, or at Bahia, that the American 
traveller down the east coast first sets his foot 
on Brazilian soil. It is the second city of im- 
portance in northeastern Brazil, and the state 
of Pernambuco, of which it is the capital, is 
second in importance only to Bahia. Recife is 
nearer to Europe than any other South Amer- 
ican port, and it is usually made the first port 
of call by the many steamers which ply to that 
continent. A coral reef extends along the 
shore, and at a distance of a few hundred feet 
from it, thus making a natural harbour for ves- 
sels that are not of too deep draught ; and it 
is this reef that gives the name to the city, for 



26 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



Recife means a reef. It is a natural wall rising 
straight up out of the water, on the top of 
which has been built a low wall of stone. At 
high tide this wall is generally high enough to 
keep out the sea. Recife is a busy port and a 
great shipping port for sugar, as that is the 
particular product of this state. The influence 
of the early Dutch colonists here can still be 
traced in the old buildings. One finds in trav- 
elling through Brazil that each state has only 
one principal production, which supports the 
people, and the export tax on which provides 
the government with funds. At one time this 
state had a monopoly in sugar production and 
Pernambuco sugar was known the world over. 

Recife is divided into three parts by streams 
of water or lagoons, and there are many 
bridges connecting the various parts. In fact 
it is cut up so much by these arms of the ocean 
that it has been called the South American 
Venice. The city is fifth in size in the republic, 
and is quite a pretty little city with plazas and 
parks after the usual style. In the oldest part 
of the city the streets are narrow and crooked, 
but on the other and larger peninsula, the 
blocks of houses are larger, the streets wider, 
and there are some good stores as well as tram 



Along the Coast to the Capital 27 



cars. The colour of the inhabitants is rather 
marked, but there is, possibly, not so large a 
percentage of the negro element as in the 
larger city lower down on the coast. 

The state of Pernambuco is a state about the 
size of Ohio, and one of the important states in 
the republic. Its population exceeds the mil- 
lion mark. Because of its large black popula- 
tion, many of whom were formerly slaves, edu- 
cation has not advanced here as much as in a 
number of the states farther south. Its com- 
merce is considerable, with sugar as the leading 
item. Cotton is also an important production. 
At the port one can see cotton coming in on 
wagons, ox-carts, the backs of mules and even 
on the black shoulders of the inhabitants. The 
coast-line of Pernambuco is only a little over a 
hundred miles in length, but the state runs in- 
land for several hundred miles. 

It will probably be surprising to many people 
to know that the whaling industry is quite an 
important one along this coast, for this sport 
is supposed to be confined to polar waters. 
And yet I have personally seen whales on the 
western coast of South America almost as far 
north as the equator. On this coast they are 
caught up to within twelve degrees of the line. 



28 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Along the coast of Bahia there are several 
whaling stations, most of which are in the 
vicinity of the city of Bahia. As soon as the 
Antarctic winter sets in, the whales begin to 
migrate northward and reach these waters in 
May. From then until November the whaling 
boats may be seen at any time out on the At- 
lantic with all sails set, looking for a " blow," 
which marks the presence of the game. Pas- 
sengers on the steamers also watch for the 
same signs, as it is a novel sight to those ma- 
king their first trip, and the older travellers are 
also looking for any diversion. 

The whales caught are full of blubber, but 
the whalebone in the jaws of the variety found 
here is too short to have much commercial 
value. The whales generally average from 
thirty to fifty feet in length, but catches are 
sometimes made of these marine monsters that 
will reach sixty feet long. The longest one of 
which any record has been made was seventy 
feet from its nose to the end of its tail, and 
yielded nearly six thousand quarts of oil. The 
meat is also considered quite a delicacy by 
many of the Bahians, who devour it eagerly. 
The methods pursued by the whaler are primi- 
tive, and more than half the whales once har- 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



29 



pooned finally escape. And yet with all this 
primitiveness, the average annual catch is from 
three to four hundred whales, which is not such 
a bad record. 

A day's run brings the traveller to the most 
important city in Brazil north of Rio de Ja- 
neiro. It is situated on a bay which is gener- 
ally classed as one of the fine harbours of the 
world. When Americus Vespucius entered this 
beautiful and commodious harbour with a fleet, 
he named it Bahia da Todos os Santos, the Bay 
of All Saints, in honour of the feast day on 
which it was first seen. When this discovery 
was reported to the King of Portugal, he sent 
out an expedition with instructions to build a 
city " strong enough not only to keep the na- 
tives in awe, but also to resist the attack of 
any more formidable army." The present city 
was founded in 1549, so that the city has out- 
grown its swaddling clothes long ago. It has 
also been a city of importance, as it was for 
almost two centuries the seat of colonial power, 
and the residence of the Governor-General rep- 
resenting the Crown. The city was originally 
named Sao Salvador, and should be called that 
to-day, but the name of the state clings to the 
capital as well. 



30 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



The bay up which the vessel sails to its an- 
chorage has sheltered many and strange craft 
during the past four centuries since its first 
discovery. It is a magnificent expanse of 
water, completely sheltered from the open sea, 
and large enough to contain all the navies of 
the world, for it is from ten to twenty miles 
wide and twenty-seven miles in length. There 
are no docks, and the boat generally anchors 
about half a mile from shore. As soon as the 
port officer has visited the ship, a gang of ban- 
dits in the form of men of dark visage crowd 
around the gangway, and seek to take the pas- 
sengers ashore. It is necessary to bargain 
very carefully, and pay nothing to the boatman 
until the round trip has been made ; otherwise 
you will be compelled to pay extra for your 
return to the ship. 

The city is divided into an upper and a lower 
town, and is quite an imposing place. The 
lower part is a narrow, sun-baked strip along 
the sea front, and is devoted to the shipping and 
banking interests. One would think that even 
they would want to get away from the foul- 
smelling odours which prevail along the water- 
front. As one writer has said, ' ' there is a dis- 
tinct and separate bad smell to every house.' 9 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



31 



During the day this section is a busy place, 
but at night a funereal quiet prevails. The 
upper city, or Cidade Alta, is reached by a long 
winding road, or by means of the ascensors, or 
elevators, of which there are several. The 
upper city is composed of broader streets, is 
in every way more attractive, and the air seems 
much purer and sweeter than in the lower town. 

The sights are novel enough, too, especially 
if it is the first Brazilian city visited. Here one 
will also meet with that luxuriant growth of 
flowers, which are seen in every plaza and pri- 
vate dooryard. The public buildings, of which 
there are a number, for this city is the capital 
of a state as large as California, are very cred- 
itable. The governor's palace, the senate build- 
ing, the municipal and other buildings occupy 
conspicuous sites. There are many churches, 
of which the Cathedral is the most interesting, 
and is one of the oldest buildings in the coun- 
try, having originally been built as a Jesuit 
coilege. Clubs, theatres and bathing resorts 
also add a liveliness to life in this city. Bahia 
has always been known for its noted names in 
literature, and many of the brightest men in 
Brazilian arts and letters were natives of this 
state. 



32 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



The bright hues of the buildings add a bril- 
liance of colour to the city which some one has 
described as " mashed rainbows.' ' There are 
vivid yellow, green, purple, sky blue, terra- 
cotta and many other equally striking shades. 
Many of the buildings are covered with porce- 
lain tiles, which render them very attractive. 
Some of the windows are ornamented with a 
lace work of wrought iron, and occasionally the 
decoration over the doors is of the same metal, 
which is said to be of negro designing. Some 
of these houses date back to colonial times, but 
others have more cosmopolitan characteristics. 
The fronts of the yards are ornamented with 
flowering trees and shrubs that harmonize (in 
some instances) with the bright colours adorn- 
ing the plaster covering of the adobe brick, 
which is the basis of construction used here. 
Most of the houses are only one story, although 
two stories are fairly common, and occasionally 
a sky-scraper three stories in height may be 
encountered. 

There is one thing that will impress itself 
upon the traveller, and that is the colour of 
its inhabitants, for it is said that Bahia has a 
greater proportion of negroes than any other 
Brazilian city, but it would be a close race be- 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



33 



tween that city and Pernambuco. One might 
think that he had stepped into one of our south- 
ern states, except for the fact that none of the 
kinky-haired inhabitants speak English. All 
of them jabber in the guttural Portuguese. 
Everywhere one goes there are negroes, and 
negroes of every hue from the aboriginal black- 
ness to a chocolate brown and saffron yellow. 
I counted fifty people as they passed by me on 
one of the principal streets. Of this number 
forty-five were decidedly black, three were 
surely white, and the remaining two I was not 
certain about. At the same time a fellow-trav- 
eller counted thirty-five on the other side of 
the street, and said that he was sure of only 
two white people out of that number. This was 
about the middle of the day, when the white 
people were probably taking their siesta, and 
the proportion would not hold good over the 
whole city. It is certain, however, as statistics 
show, that at least eighty per cent, of the popu- 
lation have a sprinkling of negro blood in their 
veins. And yet, with all this preponderance of 
blacks, the attempt of the United States to* 
appoint a negro consul at this port almost 
raised a tropical hurricane just a few years 
ago. 



34 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



The shade of black does not mean social os- 
tracism, and one will find white and black side 
by side in every social circle. Along the docks, 
and in the markets, one may see the negro men 
bearing heavy burdens on their heads, after the 
manner of Mexican cargadors, while the women 
sit around with a few articles for sale, and 
smoke huge, black cigars while waiting for pro- 
spective customers. The women also have that 
peculiar stride, which is characteristic of those 
who are accustomed to carry loads upon their 
heads. Some of the negro women are mon- 
strous in size, and weigh from two hundred to 
two hundred and fifty pounds. Their dress, 
which consists of a long, white sleeveless che- 
mise cut low in the neck, is so simple that it is 
easy to see that no padding is used. Nearly 
all wear white, or brightly coloured turbans, 
some wear shawls folded across the shoulders, 
and all are either barefooted or wear a heelless 
slipper. 

The shacks made of lumps of clay thrust 
between slats like lath, and roofed with thatch, 
which one may find on the edge of the city, are 
the homes of many of these improvident blacks. 
In this climate there is no need to lay up for 
to-morrow, and children are not expensive, for 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



35 



clothing is not needed until several years after 
they become members of the family. Some of 
the poor babies may wear a simple coin or chain 
aronnd the neck, but that will be all, except 
perhaps the innocent smile of childhood. And 
yet most of these negroes seemed to be busy 
at something, although the wages earned are 
no doubt very small. They impressed me as 
being rather superior in type to many of our 
negroes, such as one may find in some parts of 
Mississippi or Alabama. 

It is not good policy for a white man to ap- 
pear on the street without a coat, as he will lay 
himself liable to insult by the negroes. One 
of the men from the steamer took off his coat 
and carried it on his arm. A white man warned 
him, but he did not understand the language. 
It was not long until some negroes began to 
throw things at him. As soon as he put his 
coat on again these insults stopped. Coatless 
comfort on hot days is reserved by the negroes 
themselves. 

The breath of the tropics prevails at Bahia, 
as it is not far from the equatorial line. A ride 
to the suburb of Eio Vermelho, which looks out 
upon the sea, passes through avenues of trop- 
ical trees and past fields of bananas. To me 



36 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the palm is the most interesting tree of the 
tropics. The mango with its dense foliage, the 
umbrella tree with its curious yet graceful 
shape, and many flowering trees — all of these 
are beautiful; but when I see the palm, I feel 
like saying with the poet : 

" I love the Palm 
With his leaves of beauty, his fruit of balm." 

Tropical fruits of many kinds grow in abun- 
dance. The Bahia oranges, which are green 
in colour, have a fine flavour. The caju is a 
peculiar fruit about the size of a lemon, with 
the seed growing out at one end, as though it 
was stuck on in some way. This fruit is sweet 
but astringent, and is considered a great blood 
purifier. The kidney-shaped nut, when raw, is 
dangerous to eat because of poisonous juice it 
contains ; but a roasting drives out the poison- 
ous quality and the nut is then delicious. The 
mango, which, to those who have cultivated a 
liking, is the most delicious of fruits, grows to 
great size in Bahia, and has a most excellent 
flavour. One feels like getting into a bathtub, 
however, after eating one, in order to get rid 
of the muss made in eating it. I have not yet 
learned to be fond of this tropical fruit for, 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



37 



like olives, the taste is acquired, and it often- 
times requires many and repeated efforts to 
cultivate a taste. There is a fruit that grows 
out of the side and trunk of great trees, which 
much resembles an immense hedge apple, that 
is peculiar to this district. It grows to an im- 
mense size, and the natives are very fond of 
it. Then there are melons called the mammao, 
that grow on trees, and which much resemble 
the cantaloupe in appearance, but differ in 
flavour. This melon is said to have excellent 
digestive properties because of the abundance 
of pepsin which it contains. All of these, and 
many more novel things one will find in the 
markets. The curious little marmosette 
monkeys, which are not much larger than a 
good-sized rat, are very common. Then again, 
this is the home of talking parrots, and their 
shrill screeches are heard from almost every 
doorway. 

The first experience of the traveller with 
Brazilian money is rather amusing. In New 
York I had obtained five thousand five hundred 
reis, which seemed like a large sum of money, 
enough to pay for the whole trip. Imagine my 
surprise when I found it lacked five hundred 
reis of enough to pay for my first meal on 



38 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



shore! It cost three hundred reis to mail a 
letter to the States, and a street car ride cost 
another four hundred reis. My boatman 
cheated me out of one thousand reis without 
moving an eyelid. All of these things caused 
me to put pencil to paper in a little calculation. 
I found that I was a millionaire for the first 
time in my life. At the rate of exchange then 
prevailing three hundred and twenty-five dol- 
lars would buy one million reis, the money of 
the country. You may feel like a millionaire 
when the bank clerk hands over to you a pack- 
age of bills, with thousands of reis printed all 
over them ; but the illusion soon vanishes when 
your hotel bill is presented after a few days' 
stay, for a million reis soon disappears. The 
reis in an infinitesimal coin, so small that you 
could scarcely see it with a magnifying glass, 
for one thousand of them are worth only thirty- 
one cents. The milreis (one thousand reis) is 
used as the unit, and accounts are thus carried 
in the decimal system, with the dollar mark at 
the end of the thousand. Thus, one million 
reis, which is one thousand milreis, or, as it is 
generally called, one conto, would be written 
1,000$000. It is the same as the Portuguese 
monetary system, although the Brazilian mil- 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



39 



reis is only worth about half as much as that of 
Portugal. The money is all paper, and the 
most of it is the dirtiest and filthiest money I 
have ever handled. Some of the bills are so 
tattered, torn and greasy that it is almost im- 
possible for a stranger to tell what denomina- 
tion they are. The small denominations are 
large and awkward coins of several different 
issues, and of several different sizes. 

The state of Bahia is one of the larger states 
of Brazil, and has a coast line of several hun- 
dred miles. It is traversed by mountains in 
every direction, and that has perhaps been the 
cause of the tardy development of the country 
through railroad construction, because of the 
difficulties and expenses involved. There are 
a couple of railways which run inland from 
Bahia, but no railroad connects it with the ad- 
joining states. It is always necessary to come 
back to the capital city, and take the steamer 
again for whatever port one is bound for. The 
productions of the state are varied, and a great 
deal of the products is exported. The to- 
bacco export from this port is greater than that 
of all the other productions together. The leaf 
tobacco is exported in great quantities, but the 
Bahia cigarettes and cigars have a great rep- 



40 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



utation in Brazil; and the manufacture of 
them furnishes employment to thousands of 
the dusky-hued Bahians. When you consider 
that the women aid the men in smoking, it will 
be seen that the home consumption is no incon- 
siderable quantity. 

A dusky boatman rowed me out to the vessel, 
just as the sun was setting in a lurid glow 
behind the hills, which form the background 
of Bahia. The dancing waves reflected the 
lurid colours of the retreating sun, and the 
bright colours of the Bahia houses seemed to 
be borrowed from that radiant orb. Then, as 
darkness fell, the electric lights were lighted 
in the lower town and up on the hill ; and Bahia 
looked like a city of enchantment. Here and 
there moved streaks of light as the electric 
cars dashed along; and again, similar streaks 
moved up and down as the ascensors carried 
their loads. Eockets were going up in various 
parts of the city, for some religious celebration 
was being held. It was amidst such scenes that 
our good ship weighed anchor and we moved 
south, getting farther and farther away from 
the fierce breath of the tropics at each revo- 
lution of the rapidly revolving propeller. 

With land in sight about half the time, it was 



Along the Coast to the Capital 41 



almost a three days' journey to cover the inter- 
vening distance of seven hundred and fifty 
miles to Eio de Janeiro. On the morning of 
the third day the passengers were on deck 
early, for the capital was nearing. The sandy 
shores of the mainland were visible, with their 
background of rugged peaks. Little rocky 
islands with the surf dashing up against their 
jagged edges rose out of the water, and were 
successively passed. Schools of fish that swam 
so near to the surface, that they could be fol- 
lowed by the agitation of the water which they 
caused, were chased by flocks of birds that ever 
and anon dashed beneath the surface and came 
up with their prey. As the morning fog lifted, 
curious forts with disappearing guns could be 
outlined on the shore, and one imposing fort 
on a prominent peak seemed to protect the city. 
Then old Sugar Loaf, which has been so much 
pictured, lifted its lofty head out of the gloom, 
with Corcovada and the other peaks in the 
background. Gradually the harbour of Eio de 
Janeiro, which is said by all travellers to be 
one of the most beautiful, if not the most beau- 
tiful bay in the world, unfolded itself ; and 
back of the blue waters of the bay were the 
white walls and red-tiled roofs of the city, and 



42 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



above and beyond the city were the fantastic 
peaks of the many oddly formed hills which 
form the background of this fascinating city. 

There are a number of other states in this 
section of Brazil, each of which deserves some 
mention. Between Pernambuco and Bahia lie 
two of the smaller states, Alagoas and Sergipe. 
The former is a state almost as large as Indi- 
ana, and is the most populous in the republic. 
It is a rich agricultural state, with sugar and 
cotton as the principal crops. The name, 
A-lagoas, means the lakes, and it is upon one 
of the principal of these that the capital, 
Maceio, is situated. This is a pretty little town 
of forty thousand or more inhabitants. The 
people of the state are generally Portuguese, 
with more or less mixture of the native or 
negro races. The two military presidents of 
Brazil were from this state. Sergipe, the small- 
est state, is nearly twice as large as our own 
state of Massachusetts, and has a population 
of about half a million. On the coast it is low, 
hot and swampy, but in the interior the soil 
is higher, and most of it very fertile. It has 
neither a railroad nor a good port, so that the 
state is greatly handicapped in its commerce. 
The capital is Aracaju, which is a pretty little 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



43 



tropical city of about twenty-five thousand peo- 
ple. It is quite probable that Sergipe will one 
day be absorbed by one of the larger states, as 
the financial problem is a serious one. 

Sections of each of the three states lying 
north of Pernambuco, Parahyba, Rio Grande 
do Norte and Ceara lie within what is termed 
an arid belt. This seems a very strange occur- 
rence so near the equator. There are, however, 
droughts there that last for several years, and 
so greatly impoverish the people that govern- 
ment succour becomes necessary. When I was 
in Brazil a government commission was just 
starting for that section to study the question, 
and see what could be done to introduce dry 
farming methods. Parahyba, which is a little 
larger than Alagoas, is perhaps the least af- 
fected, but still its climate is generally hot and 
dry. In the lowlands sugar and rice are cul- 
tivated, and in the uplands cereals. Cotton is 
likewise one of the chief products, and a great 
many cattle are raised in the interior. The 
capital city has the same name, and is an in- 
terior town connected with the seaport, Cabe- 
dello, by rail. 

Rio Grande do Norte is the most northeast- 
erly state, and was the first land sighted by 



44 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Europeans on the shores of South America. 
Its area of twenty-two thousand square miles 
includes much arid territory where rain is very 
uncertain. Artesian wells have been tried 
without much success, and dry farming seems 
to be the only hope, although the droughts only 
come periodically. Premiums have been of- 
fered for the digging of these wells, and the 
construction of dams or reservoirs. One of 
the chief industries outside of agriculture is 
the production of salt, of which thousands of 
tons are made each year from the rich saline 
deposits along the northern shore. Natal is 
the capital and chief seaport. Although this 
city is not large to-day, it is very old, having 
been founded in 1597. 

Ceara is a progressive state despite famines 
which have come about every eleven years, and 
at times have greatly reduced the population, 
for fevers have generally followed the famines. 
The inhabitants are workers, and from this 
state have been drawn the labourers to develop 
the rubber industry. Ceara was the first state 
to emancipate the slaves, and in many ways the 
people have shown themselves progressive. 
They stick to the home land regardless of fam- 
ines and droughts, and cultivate their fields 



Along the Coast to the Capital 



45 



assiduously. The cacao of this state is very 
fine, and the cattle industry is an important one. 
This state, the size of Illinois, supports a pop- 
ulation of nearly a million, of which about fifty 
thousand live in the capital city of Fortaleza. 

Piauhy is a large state about which little is 
known. It has a population of less than two 
to the square mile, and has a coast line not 
exceeding ten miles on the Atlantic. Only a 
very small portion of the land is cultivated 
The principal exports are a white wax, made 
from the scales of a palm, and a rubber known 
as Manicoba rubber. The towns are small, the 
largest, Therizina, also the capital, having a 
population of only twenty thousand. There is 
much fine timber in the state, and probably not 
a saw-mill to cut it. With railroads, men of 
enterprise and money, Piauhy might be devel- 
oped into a great, prosperous and influential 
state. 

About half-way between Bahia and Pernam- 
buco is the mouth of the Sao Francisco River, 
another of the great water-courses of Brazil. 
For a thousand miles from its mouth this river 
is navigable for small vessels, except for a dis- 
tance of about one hundred miles, where there 
are some wonderful rapids and inspiring falls. 



46 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



In April, when the dry season sets in, the peo- 
ple from the hillsides and mountains move 
down to plant their corn, beans, rice and man- 
dioca. The freshets leave a deposit of fine 
white sand, which enriches the soil. It is not 
necessary to break the ground. The native 
makes a hole in the ground, with a sharp stick, 
into which a seed is dropped and then covered. 
He then builds a shelter of the palm branches 
and awaits the maturing of his crops. When 
they are gathered he sells his surplus to the 
traders, and moves up again into the hills and 
mountains, where he lives a life of comparative 
ease and idleness until the next season. 

The principal falls of the Sao Francisco are 
called Paulo Affonso, and are a two days' trip 
up the river from its mouth, through tropical 
scenery. The average width of this river 
above the falls is two-thirds of a mile, and 
the volume of water is great, for it drains an 
immense territory. The rapids begin some 
distance above the falls proper. The whirling 
and churning water is dashed along on its way 
toward the final leap, where this immense vol- 
ume of water is forced through a break in the 
precipitous banks, not more than fifty feet 
wide. The falls are slightly crescent shaped. 



Along the Coast to the Capital 47 



As the main body of the water rushes, leaps 
and surges down the steep incline of the last 
rapids, it is hurled against a steep black wall 
with great momentum; broken into foam and 
spray, swishing, swirling and churning, it then 
rebounds only to be pushed over the abyss at 
a right angle to its original course. The waters 
then rush forward for a few hundred feet, only 
to be hurled back by another rock wall three 
hundred feet high, thus forming a whirlpool, 
from which it finally escapes and passes 
through a narrow gorge for several miles, from 
which it emerges in a little quieter mood. The 
total fall of the water is two hundred and sev- 
enty feet. The view from a height of nearly 
one hundred feet, as one looks down upon the 
final leap of one hundred and ninety feet, is 
awe-inspiring. There is not only a wonderful 
view of the falls from that point, but a bird's- 
eye view of the rapids, and the roar of the falls 
and rapids is something terrific. 



CHAPTEE III 



THE CITY OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

If the capital of Argentina deserves to be 
called the " City of Good Airs," then the cap- 
ital of Brazil should be termed Buenas Vistas, 
the " City of Beautiful Views." Of all the 
cities in the world Rio de Janeiro best deserves 
to be called by that name. This is not my opin- 
ion alone, but it is the almost unanimous ver- 
dict of this most beautiful city. Everywhere 
that the eye falls, it is met with a view that is 
a worthy subject for the artist's brush. The 
camera fiend is kept busy " pressing the but- 
ton," for at almost every turn there is the 
temptation to expose the sensitive plate which 
will reproduce the scene that so appeals to the 
eye. But, although the plate or film faithfully 
reproduces the outline and detail of the scene, 
the blue of the sky and the waters of the bay, 
the green of the palms, and the other trees, the 
colours of the flowers which are omnipresent, 
and the bright and varied tints of the houses 

48 



The City of Beautiful Views 



49 



are sadly missing in the resulting photograph. 
All of these are absolutely necessary to com- 
plete the picture, which lingers in the memory 
of one who has visited this second city of South 
America. 

When the early navigators sailed up the 
island-studded bay, which leads to the present 
site of the capital of Brazil, they thought it 
must surely be the mouth of a broad river, and, 
as it was in the month of January, they named 
it, for want of a better name, Rio de Janeiro, 
the River of January, and the name has clung 
to the bay and settlement, which has grown 
into a thriving city, during the succeeding four 
centuries. No one, however, since that time 
has been able to discover the supposed river 
which led to the name. So this city of lovely 
views and of romantic history bears, and has 
always borne, a name which is a misnomer, but 
this fact has not affected either the beauty of 
the scene or the development of the city. It is 
simply another illustration of the saying that 
there is little in a name, and a rose by any 
other name would smell just as sweet. The 
inhabitant of the city is even called a " flume- 
nense, ' ' from the word meaning a river. 

The full name of Brazil's capital is San 



50 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Sebastian de Rio de Janeiro, and its founda- 
tion dates back to the year 1566, when a land- 
ing was effected here by a few colonists near 
the famous Sugar Loaf mountain. A citadel 
was built on a hill now called Morro do Castillo. 
Near this was next erected a church called San 
Sebastian, in honour of the city's patron saint, 
which ancient structure is still standing as one 
of the few memorials of the remote past, and 
within its walls rest the remains of the city's 
founder, Estacio de Sa. There are still a few 
other relics of these earlier days, but most of 
them have been greatly altered, and many of 
them practically rebuilt. 

For a couple of centuries Brazil was the seat 
of Portuguese power in the new world, and it 
was the centre of many political struggles dur- 
ing the capitancias. It pulsated with that ex- 
citement that can only be found in Latin cities, 
and many a plot and counterplot has been 
hatched within its environs. For a while, dur- 
ing Napoleon's occupancy of the throne, it was 
the seat of government, for the royal family 
of Portugal fled to these hospitable shores, and 
all the wealth, pomp, splendour and gayety of 
a powerful and extravagant court was trans- 
ferred to this city. This lasted only for a short 



The City of Beautiful Views 



51 



time, for Napoleon was overthrown, and the 
royal family returned to the mother land. Po- 
litical discontent in Brazil soon led to the es- 
tablishment of an independent empire, with the 
son of the reigning monarch of Portugal as the 
ruler of the new nation. 

Bio, for nearly every one uses the short ap- 
pellation, has seen many changes. Starting as 
a small settlement of adventurers, it became 
successively the capital of a capitancia, a prov- 
ince, a kingdom, an empire and a republic. All 
of the latter changes have taken place within 
the last century. And yet, among all those 
changes, from the extreme of capitancia to 
republic, there has been none which so com- 
pletely affected the appearance, and perhaps 
final destiny of the city, as the metamorphosis 
which has taken place during the past half 
dozen years. The visitor to the Rio of a decade 
ago, with its antiquated streets, old-fashioned 
architecture and foul-smelling open-sewered 
public thoroughfares, which more nearly re- 
sembled alleys than streets, would scarcely 
recognize the new capital of broad avenues, 
clean, well-swept pavements and the beautiful 
boulevard which follows the sweep of the bay 
for many miles. 



52 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



The old has not been entirely displaced by 
the new, for the famous Ouvidor still remains, 
and during all the business hours of the day 
is filled with a throng of shoppers, business 
men and the idle who spend their waking hours 
in the cafes or other resorts. It is still the 
great shopping as well as gossiping street. 
The people spread themselves over the side- 
walk and street, for all other traffic is excluded 
from this street during those hours. It still 
possesses some of the best stores and the best 
of everything that pleases the Brazilians. 
Thousands of people pass through this street 
each day, who come for no other purpose than 
to shake hands with and talk to friends. It 
may be that their only desire is to see and to 
be seen. The officeholder comes here to feel 
the pulse of the people, and the politician tries 
to hold a public reception on the sidewalk. It 
is likewise a cosmopolitan crowd, for one will 
find not only all classes of Brazilians, but many 
other nationalities. Swells with silk hats bump 
up against half-dressed negroes with loads on 
their heads. Lottery peddlers accost you on 
every corner, and sometimes pester you until 
it becomes an annoyance. Many of the other 
streets might be recognized as they have not 



The City of Beautiful Views 



53 



been changed, although the nomenclature is 
different, for there has been a new set of heroes 
and notables, whose names should be preserved 
in this public way. Nearly all of the old names 
have disappeared from the signs that face the 
traveller on all the corners. Even on old Ouvi- 
dor, instead of that familiar word, appears in 
places the name of Moreira Cesar. Other new 
names are 15th of November, 7th of Septem- 
ber, Gongalves Diaz (the poet), etc., etc. 

A few years ago the city fathers decided that 
they would transform the capital and make it 
not only a beautiful but a more beautiful city. 
Engineers and architects were employed, plans 
were drawn up and work was begun on an 
elaborate scale, which has not been entirely 
completed as yet. Perhaps the most remark- 
able feature of the work was the construction 
of the Avenida Central through the centre of 
the city, from sea to sea, and its continuation 
around the bay where it is called Avenida 
Beira Mar. The Avenida Central starts at a 
section of the city called the Maua, and ex- 
tends through the heart of the city for a mile 
to the Monroe Palace. A few years ago this 
was a tangle of narrow, foul-smelling streets 
and lanes, which the government was com- 



54 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



pelled to buy at a large figure. Night and day 
forces were set at work tearing down the old 
buildings, removing the debris, constructing 
the drainage and paving, so that the progress 
made was remarkably rapid for a tropical coun- 
try, or for any country or clime. Over three 
thousand men were kept at work night and 
day, and four hundred buildings were demol- 
ished to carry out the work. In less than two 
years the change was accomplished, and now 
this avenue, one hundred and five feet in width, 
with broad pavements made of mosaic worked 
into odd designs, a row of brazil trees on each 
curb, and in the centre, alternating with artis- 
tic lamp-posts, has the appearance of one of 
the famous avenues of Paris. Fine new build- 
ings have been built on each side, many of them 
of really artistic design and finish. The 
rounded corner has been used at the street 
intersections, the building line being on a curve 
of a considerable radius. This adds a beauty 
and dignity to the architecture of buildings 
that is lacking in the cities of the United States. 

The Monroe Palace, which is a reproduction 
of the Brazilian building at the St. Louis Ex- 
position, and which received a medal for its 
artistic design, marks the boundary between 



The City of Beautiful Views 



55 



the two avenues. The building was completed 
in 1906, and the sessions of the Pan-American 
conference were held in it during that year, 
for which it had been specially constructed. It 
is a beautiful building, and stands in a location 
where it appears to the very best possible ad- 
vantage. Here the Beira Mar (around the sea) 
begins, and it is so named because it runs be- 
tween the hills and the bay, and follows the 
outline of the latter. Much of it is made land, 
and occupies what was at one time the favour- 
ite breeding place of the mosquitoes which 
were formerly the pest of this city. Double 
roadways in places, of different elevations, 
small parks, and the ever-varying outline of 
hill and bay, the intense shades of green of 
the dense vegetation, and the palms in stately 
rows and silhouetted against the horizon make 
this avenue the most beautiful and most fas- 
cinating boulevard in the world. I never tired 
of riding along the Beira Mar, for the angle of 
vision is constantly changing in its many turns 
and twists, and every change is only a new 
vision of beauty and interest. Thus the drive 
leads out past the Praia da Lapa, the Praia 
da Russell and the Praia da Flamengo until it 
ends in the horseshoe curve of Botafogo, where 



56 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the exposition of 1908 was held and the build- 
ings of which are yet standing. The Beira Mar 
is one of the favourite residence districts, and 
it is lined here and there with beautiful homes. 
It is easy to go into raptures over such scenes, 
and dull indeed is the soul that could not be 
stirred by them. 

Among the other streets which have been 
widened is the Rua Uruguayana, which starts 
at the custom house and cuts across the city at 
right angles to the Avenida Central. It is a 
broad street for a Latin city, but is not so wide 
as the other. The Avenida do Mangue is a 
picturesque street, with its quadruple line of 
stately palms which run its entire length of 
a mile or more. Rio is the home of the royal 
palm, and you see them all over the city. The 
trees are round and smooth and almost as sym- 
metrical as if cut by a sculptor. No avenue 
of marble columns can equal these furnished by 
nature. The Canal do Mangue runs through 
the centre of the Mangue and there are four 
driveways along it, two on either side of the 
canal, as it is very broad. Leaving the palms 
and following the canal, the avenue makes a 
broad sweep and leads out to the new docks 
which are being constructed at great expense. 



The City of Beautiful Views 57 



Immense warehouses have been built and great 
cranes erected, but they are not in use, because 
it is necessary to dredge a channel before the 
ocean-going vessels of deep draught can reach 
the docks. Work is progressing, however, and 
it will not be long until it will no longer be 
necessary for vessels to anchor out in the open, 
and for both passengers and freight to be 
brought ashore either in launches or row boats. 
Thus will one of the annoyances as well as one 
of the big items of expense at this port be elim- 
inated. Along the line of warehouses, and par- 
allel with the harbour line, an avenue has been 
laid out that is more than three hundred feet 
in width. This gives abundant room for rail- 
road tracks, tram tracks and driveways for 
both wagons and pleasure vehicles. 

There are many pretty little parks scattered 
over the city, each one of which is a miniature 
of beauty. The Jardim do Passeio Publico, 
near the Monroe Palace, is one of these. Its 
profusion of vegetation is such as can only be 
seen in a tropical climate, where there is no 
destroying frost and where a kind nature en- 
courages growth during the entire year. The 
Praca da Eepublica is in the very centre of 
the city, and is the largest park in the city 



58 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



proper. It was the chief theatre of action in 
the memorable events in which the country was 
changed from an empire to a republic within 
the short period of twenty-four hours. Be- 
cause of this event the name was changed from 
its former name of Praga d'Acclamacao. There 
are many statues, in this and all the other 
parks, of men who have been famous in the 
country's history. One of the most noted is 
that of Dom Pedro I in the Praca Tiradentes, 
which represents him in the act of shouting 
the watchword " Independence or death,' ' 
after he received the message from the Por- 
tuguese Cortes at Ypiranga, just outside the 
city of Sao Paulo. There is also a fine monu- 
ment to the Duke de Caxais, one of the heroes 
of the Paraguayan war, in a park which bears 
his name. Another striking feature of the city 
is the ancient Carioca Aqueduct, which is a 
monument of picturesque grandeur where its 
lofty arches loom up over the comparatively 
low buildings. It was built more than a cen- 
tury and a half ago, but still remains as solid 
and substantial as when first built. It is now 
used by the tramway company as a part of its 
line which ascends the hill leading up to the 
Corcovada. 



The City of Beautiful Views 



59 



There are many charitable institutions in the 
city for the care of unfortunates and the amelio- 
ration of suffering. There are orphan asylums, 
free clinics for the treatment of various troub- 
les, an institution maintained by the society 
formed to combat the plague of tuberculosis, 
and institutions for the care of the deaf and 
dumb, blind and insane. The largest hospital 
in Eio de Janeiro, and perhaps on South Amer- 
ican soil, is the Santa Casa de Misericordia, 
which was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 
1545. The buildings now occupied by this 
noted institution have been in use for nearly 
three-quarters of a century, but they have re- 
cently been overhauled and remodelled. The 
buildings are in a classic and beautiful style 
of architecture, as are most of the public build- 
ings in Brazil. It has accommodation for more 
than twelve hundred patients. One of the 
strange and unusual features of this hospital 
is a revolving wheel made for the reception of 
unwelcome infants. In this wheel a cradle is 
so arranged that when an infant is laid on it 
the wheel turns around, and the little stranger 
finds a welcome it did not find elsewhere. No 
questions are asked, no effort is made to find 
out who placed the infant in the cradle, and 



60 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the babe is taken care of until it is ready to 
go forth and work for itself, or has been 
adopted by some good family. If this insti- 
tution does nothing else, it takes away the in- 
centive to infanticide which prevails in many 
places. There is also in the city a Strangers' 
Hospital, which is mainly supported by the 
foreign residents of the capital, and it is an 
institution that has done a great deal of good 
among those who are expatriated from their 
homes by the exigencies of business. 

The market is always an interesting place 
to visit in a Latin country, for the life to be 
seen there is unique. The market scenes in 
Eio are not so picturesque as in the cities far- 
ther inland, but there are still many unique 
scenes to be witnessed. It is situated just at 
one side of the Plaza 15th of November, and 
on the water front, so that the fishing boats 
can unload direct into the market and the gar- 
bage can easily be disposed of. The building is 
large and commodious, of an indifferent archi- 
tecture, but well adapted to its purposes. The 
deepest impression made upon a visit to this 
place is the decidedly tropical characteristics 
to be seen everywhere. Tropical fruits, con- 
sisting of oranges, bananas, pineapples, man- 



The City of Beautiful Views 



61 



goes, mammao, etc., are to be seen in great 
abundance everywhere. The salted meat so 
commonly used is stacked up like eordwood. 
It has a strong smell and is very salty, but it 
is much liked by the common people, and fre- 
quently brings a better price than fresh beef. 
Fat pork is salted in the same way and done 
up in rolls from which slices are cut off for 
the customer. This fat is usually used in cook- 
ing the beans which form such an important 
article of food. There are many kinds of 
strange fish in that department, for the waters 
along the coast of Brazil are filled with excel- 
lent fish. One fish, which is quite large, is very 
peculiar, because its eyes extend out an inch or 
more from its head. Then there are little jelly 
fish in great numbers, and a little creature that 
looks like a miniature devil-fish which seems 
to be a favourite article of food. Shrimps and 
oysters will also be found for sale. Birds of 
brilliant plumage await the buyers in their 
cages, while green and purple parrots sit se- 
dately on their perches and fill the air with 
their rough screeches. Chickens, ducks, geese, 
turkeys and guinea pigs are found in abun- 
dance, and even dogs are caged up awaiting 
new owners. But the numerous monkeys, from 



62 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the little marinosettes to the big ones three or 
or four feet high, who sit and blink at you like 
curious little old men, will probably hold the 
attention of the northern visitor longer than 
any other one feature of the market at Eio de 
Janeiro. 

To this market come the hucksters from all 
parts of the city for their supplies, which they 
then peddle from door to door. Fish and vege- 
tables are carried in baskets that are hung on 
the ends of a long pole, which is balanced 
across the shoulder. A score or more of fowls 
may be placed in a basket which the peripatetic 
merchant carries around on his head, while the 
inmates cackle and crow along the way. The 
bread merchant carries his stock in trade on 
his head, in a contrivance which looks more 
like a baby-crib than anything else. Onions 
and garlic are carried on strings with the stems 
woven together with straw. Along the streets 
one will constantly hear the oddly varying 
cries of these house-to-house merchants, the 
flute-like whistles which some of them carry, 
and the clapping of sticks by others or the 
strangely penetrating noise of the scissors- 
grinder, which is made by touching a piece of 
metal to the grindstone. 



The City of Beautiful Views 



63 



From the standpoint of comfort the great and 
imposing Avenida Central is a failure. The sun 
beats down unmercifully during the hot days, 
and it is not half so comfortable as streets like 
the Ouvidor, Goncalves Diaz, Quintana and 
others of the business streets which are so nar- 
row that they are shaded from curb to curb dur- 
ing most of the day, and the sun does not really 
have a fair chance to get in its work. It is, how- 
ever, the centre of the street life, and at all 
times is a study of Brazilian life. There is 
always a crowd of men in the many cafes, which 
line this street on either side, and the tables of 
which are set out over half the broad sidewalk, 
or more. After eating his noon breakfast, a 
man never takes his coffee at the same restau- 
rant, but always goes to one of the cafes where 
he sips a small cup of strong, black coffee, 
smokes a few cigarettes and gossips with his 
friends. The Brazilians drink coffee as the 
German drinks beer — not in such great quan- 
tities, but fully as often. In fact they drink so 
much that it must have got into their com- 
plexions. A Brazilian proverb says that good 
coffee must be as " strong as Satan, as black 
as ink, as hot as hades and as sweet as love." 
It is certainly black and strong, is served hot 



64 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and enough sugar is used to make it very 
sweet. 

One is struck with the vivacity of the groups 
of men, who talk with their hands, head, face 
and eyes, as well as with their mouths. Another 
thing that impressed me was the uncomfortable 
style of dress, for the average ' ' flumenense " 
wears a rather heavy suit and derby hat in 
this hot climate, and would never think of dis- 
pensing with his vest under any circumstances. 
To make up for this one may often see the men 
carrying fans and briskly fanning themselves. 
Where these young men, who are clerks in busi- 
ness houses, or hold small-salaried government 
positions, get the money to spend in these cafes 
is a mystery to me; for all drinks are exceed- 
ingly high-priced, with the exception of coffee, 
which is uniformly sold for one hundred reis, 
equal to three cents in our money. In the mat- 
ter of clothes, however, they are more econom- 
ical, and they do not dress as well as the ladies 
whom they delight to watch. 

From three to five in the afternoon the Ave- 
nida, from the Ouvidor to the Avenida Hotel, is 
crowded with well-dressed ladies who make 
these few blocks a sort of promenade. One will 
see handsomely gowned matrons, demure little 



The City of Beautiful Views 



65 



maidens, and senhoritas who are just beginning 
to seek the favours of the young men, and this 
gives them an opportunity to see and be seen. 
The ladies wear huge Parisian hats and high 
heels, and are gowned elaborately. Powder, 
paste, rouge and other cosmetics are much in 
evidence, even among the younger ones, whose 
complexions hardly need such aids to freshness. 
The figures are plump, and those of the matrons 
have reached a stoutness that must be distress- 
ing to them. The men, whose narrow shoulders 
and thin chests are in striking contrast to the 
plump figures of the ladies, sit at the street 
tables of the cafes and watch them as they pass ; 
but they rather like than resent this, for it is 
the custom of the country, and a long look is a 
mark of flattery which they appreciate. 

In the streets there is a constant movement. 
Carriages with liveried drivers, high-wheeled 
carts loaded with freight, curious little Japan- 
ese " kiosks," in which walks a vendor of 
dulces, and car ig adores with loads upon their 
heads pass along in endless procession. I have 
seen pianos thus borne upon the heads of four 
men pass along the Avenida. Other heavy arti- 
cles of furniture, and large panes of plate glass 
are carried in the same way. The oldfashioned, 



66 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



two-wheeled tilbury, so common here, whisks 
along at as lively a rate as the horse can go. 
Only one passenger dares ride in one of them, 
or a great commotion will be raised among the 
other tilbury drivers. The " fon-fon " of the 
automobile is constantly heard. A line of auto 
omnibuses is run along this avenue, and then 
some of the four hundred or more private autos 
will be in view at any time. Ice is delivered by 
automobile, for quick delivery is important in 
a hot climate when the price is three cents a 
pound. The automobile ambulance is sure to 
pass along, as it is always on the go, and then 
there are a number of auto deliveries, police 
hurry-up wagons, fire trucks, and even a street 
sprinkler propelled by gasoline. 

The police are omnipresent, and are to be 
found everywhere. There are three classes of 
these guardians of the public peace: the civil, 
the military and the mounted police. The 
former are under the prefect, and the military 
police, who wear a different uniform, are under 
the authority of the minister of war. The mili- 
tary police may be seen several times a day, 
marching along in large or small squads with 
a bugler to announce their coming. The civil 
police are more numerous but less conspicuous. 



The City of Beautiful Views 



67 



It is said that there are oftentimes more or less 
serious conflicts of authority between the two 
police organizations. The military police de- 
partment has a number of auto patrol wagons 
which are frequently seen on the streets. When- 
ever a call is sent to headquarters a wagon is 
loaded up with ten or a dozen officers, and is 
then sent pell-mell through the streets to the 
point of call, and frequently two wagons thus 
loaded will appear. Perhaps the occasion of the 
call is some harmless drunk (although drunken- 
ness is not common), and it seems a joke to see 
such a formidable force appear upon such an 
occasion. At night, a policeman may be found 
upon almost any corner, and, if there is safety 
in numbers, then Rio de Janeiro is a very secure 
place in which to live. 

Along the Avenida are many fine office build- 
ings belonging to private concerns, some of 
which cover almost an entire square, and many 
of which are truly architecturally beautiful 
structures. Perhaps among the finest of these 
are the homes of three of the leading news- 
papers; the Jornal do Commercio, Jornal do 
Brazil and 0. Pais. The variety of architecture 
prevents any appearance of monotony. The 
Caixa de Amortizacao, or treasury building, 



68 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



where the paper and gold money are exchanged 
and equalized, is a very beautiful building on 
the corner of the Eua Uruguayana. Near the 
other end of the Avenida are several fine public 
buildings. One of these is the new Art Museum, 
and another the new National Library, neither 
of which were quite finished at the time of my 
visit, The Municipal Building is a unique and 
ornate building, brilliant in colour and adorned 
with many statues. A number of stately palms 
which stand near the building give it a very fine 
setting. The most beautiful and striking build- 
ing of all, however, is the magnificent Municipal 
Theatre, which stands in a conspicuous location 
at a street intersection, and in spacious dimen- 
sions, as well as stately appearance, well rivals 
the far famed Opera House of Paris. It was 
built by the municipality and cost several mil- 
lions of dollars, and is said to have a capacity 
of twenty thousand persons. 

Bio de Janeiro has been transformed. It 
used to be that the traveller, frightened at the 
idea of yellow fever, would come here with his 
ears and brain throbbing from the effects of 
quinine. He would walk over the city with a 
smelling bottle under his nose for fear of con- 
tagion. Now it is different. Once the home of 



The City of Beautiful Views 



69 



yellow fever, smallpox and other plagues, this 
great city has been renovated and overhauled, 
until now it is as healthful as the average city. 
The municipal government deserves great 
credit for the energetic and thorough manner in 
which this work has been done. Hundreds of 
miles of underground sewers have supplanted 
the open gutters of former days, and with the 
disappearance of the open sewers has vanished 
the unpleasant odours which formerly per- 
vaded the atmosphere. Low, marshy ground 
has been filled up. The people were compelled 
to remove the dirt from the tiles in which moss 
and fungi had grown, and cement the joints so 
that there would be nothing to retain dampness. 
The first floors of all buildings must be made of 
tile or cement, so that rats can not get into the 
houses. And then the people scrub and clean, 
and clean and scrub, in most parts of the city, 
so that it is a fair rival of a Dutch town. The 
street cleaning department is alert and active, 
so that the streets in general are cleaner than 
the average American city. It is only when one 
of the heavy rain storms breaks on the city that 
it is different, and then tons of red sand and 
mud are washed down from the hills, and the 
street commissioner has his hands full for a few 



70 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



days to clean up this mud. These tropical rains 
are veritable downpours, and the amount of 
water that falls during even a comparatively 
short rain is almost incredible. 

The visitor is first inclined to look lightly 
upon the brilliant and variegated colourings of 
the houses and other buildings, and think that 
it is very much overdone. The longer one stays 
there, however, the more the colouring seems 
to be in harmony with the tropics. Such bril- 
liant colours and light, airy effects would be en- 
tirely out of place in a land where the trees lost 
their foliage, and snow covered the ground dur- 
ing a part of the year. But here, where the sky 
is so blue, where the foliage is ever green and 
where the sun is so bright, even the light blues 
and greens, the pinks and terra-cotta colourings 
on the houses finally seem in harmony. Some- 
times, under a porch, one will see a landscape 
painting on the wall of the house, and many of 
these paintings are well done. The style of 
architecture is Portuguese and differs from the 
Spanish style, which always includes a little 
court, or patio, in the centre. In the Brazilian 
homes of the better class, a little green yard is 
maintained in front of the houses, where a few 
flowers and shrubs are cultivated, and, if large 



The City of Beautiful Views 71 



enough, a palm or two will be found. There is 
no fine grass, however, such as grows in cooler 
climes, for the grass found is very coarse and 
is planted stalk by stalk. A high iron fence gen- 
erally separates the yard from the street. In 
some of the better homes with large yards, a 
little pavilion, or lookout, is built near the 
street, from which the ladies of the family may 
view the processions and festas, which are such 
a common occurrence here. These take the 
place of the balconies erected for ladies where 
the houses are built up to the street line as in the 
Spanish architecture. 

The public buildings are scattered over dif- 
ferent sections of the city, but most of them not 
already enumerated are of rather indifferent 
architecture. The Casa da Moeda (mint), the 
Congress and Senate buildings, the Navy and 
War Departments and the President's Mansion 
are all in different sections. The latter bears 
several statues on the roof, and connected with 
it are some very fine gardens. The National 
Library contains a valuable collection of more 
than four hundred thousand books, manuscripts 
and other important documents. The National 
Museum is one of the oldest institutions in the 
capital. Originally intended only as a museum 



72 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of natural history, it has been extended until 
now it includes all kinds of collections of scien- 
tific interest. It contains a fine collection of 
specimens of animal and insect life in Brazil, 
and specimens of the art and handiwork of the 
aboriginal tribes who still inhabit many sections 
of the republic. 

A splendid system of electric tramways exists 
under the management of a company composed 
of American and Canadian capitalists. The 
routes are rather complicated, and are quite 
confusing to the visitor at first. The cars are 
called " bonds," and the origin of the name is 
rather curious. When the system was first in- 
augurated the people, who had heard a great 
deal about American " bonds " in connection 
with the negotiations, applied that name to the 
cars when they finally appeared, and the name 
has clung to them ever since. 

The city of Bio de Janeiro and its environs 
constitute the Federal District, which is similar 
to the District of Columbia. The municipal or- 
ganization is controlled by the national govern- 
ment, but the people are not disfranchised as in 
our own capital. The inhabitants of the district 
elect three senators and ten deputies to the 
National Congress, and also a city council of 



The City of Beautiful Views 73 



ten members which meets in session twice each 
year. The chief executive is the Prefect, who 
is appointed by the President and holds office 
for five years, unless previously removed. 
Under him are several boards, through which 
the several departments of public work are 
transacted. 

In 1908 there was held in Rio an exposition 
in celebration of the centennial of the opening 
of that port, and the other Brazilian ports to the 
commerce of the world. The federal govern- 
ment appropriated a million dollars for its 
palace and exhibit, and nearly all of the states 
erected buildings, and appropriated a goodly 
suln toward the expenses. The United States 
and Portugal were the only two foreign nations 
invited to take a part in the exposition. The 
location was a most beautiful one at the extreme 
end of the Beira Mar, and almost under the 
shadow of old Sugar Loaf and Corcovado. A 
number of the buildings erected were of a per- 
manent character, and these, as well as many 
of the state buildings, still stand. 

In striking contrast to the Eio of to-day was 
that of a century ago, when foreign nations were 
first given the privilege of trading there. The 
following extracts are made from " Notices of 



74 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Brazil," published in 1831 by an English 
writer : 

' i When the country was opened to the enter- 
prise of foreigners, it was not at all surprising 
that the City of Bio and its commerce should 
have increased with an unexampled rapidity. 
Such was the avidity of speculation in Eng- 
land, that everything was sent to Brazil with- 
out the smallest regard to its fitness or adap- 
tation to the climate, or the wants of the peo- 
ple who were to purchase them. The shops 
were ransacked and swept ; and the considera- 
tion was not what should be sent, but how soon 
could it arrive. In this way, when the multi- 
tude of cases were opened at the custom-house, 
I have been told, the Brazilians could not con- 
tain their astonishment and mirth at the incon- 
gruous things they saw displayed before them ; 
implements useful only to Canadians and Green- 
landers, and comforts and conveniences fit 
only for polar latitudes, were cased up and 
sent in abundance to regions between the 
tropics. 

' 1 Among this ingenious selection was a large 
supply of warm blankets, warming-pans to heat 
them, and, to complete the climax of absurdity, 
skates to enable the Brazilians to enjoy whole- 



The City of Beautiful Views 



75 



some exercise on the ice, in a region where a 
particle of frost or a flake of snow was never 
seen. However ridicnlons or wasteful this may 
seem, these incongruous articles were not lost 
in a new country, where necessity and ingenuity 
could apply things to a use for which they were 
never intended by the sage exporters. Even the 
apparently hopeless and inconvertible skate was 
turned to a useful purpose. Then, as well as 
now, there was nothing in the country so scarce 
as wrought iron for shoeing mules and horses ; 
and though " ferradors," or smiths, are to be 
met at every rancho, " ferraduras," or shoes, 
are seldom to be had. When the people, there- 
fore, found they could not use these contriv- 
ances on their own, they applied them to their 
horses' feet; and many an animal has actually 
travelled on English skates from Eio to Villa 
Rica. 

" The bustle and activity of the place give a 
high idea of the commerce of Eio. A multitude 
of negroes are constantly employed, who labour 
without intermission the whole day in removing 
packages of different kinds. They are generally 
lying open, either to be, or after having been 
examined ; and it presents really a curious and 
interesting spectacle to pass along the courts 



76 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and warerooms, through manufactures of every 
kind, and from all parts of the globe. 

" Having waded through these, I mounted 
upstairs, and I saw a multitude of persons hard 
at work, as if it had been a large factory. These 
were the stampers : every article, even to a 
single pair of gloves, stockings or shoes, when 
the duty is paid, must be distinguished by this 
stamp. Three or four hundred persons were 
engaged in this work. One ran the thread 
through the corner of the stockings or shoes; 
another looped it to a little perforated pellet of 
lead ; and a third pressed it flat by striking on 
it a stamp of the Imperial Arms. Any article, 
however minute, that has not this attachment 
to it, is liable to be seized as contraband. The 
process of stamping every article, however, is 
so tedious and troublesome that it is found to 
impede business very much, and the fees on the 
leaden stamp come to twice as much as the duty 
on the goods in the cost of pieces of tape and 
other smaller things." 



CHAPTER IV 



AROUND AND ABOUT THE BAY 

There are many villages large and small, 
around the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, but few of 
them are worth the visiting. Nictheroy, how- 
ever, a twenty minutes' ride across the bay, is 
an exception, for the ride is pleasant and this 
city is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. 
The national capital is situated in a Federal 
District very similar to the District of Columbia. 
Ferries run every few minutes, and the trip is 
a pleasant diversion. The city contains some 
thirty thousand or more inhabitants, but there 
is nothing grand or distinctive about it. It has 
several public squares after the usual fashion, 
the streets are fairly broad but badly paved, 
and some of the public buildings are quite re- 
spectable. There is a good system of street 
railways, and a trip can be made out to the 
rather picturesque suburb of Sacco do San 
Francisco, or Itajahy, which is also on the 
shores of the bay. Perhaps the principal reason 

77 



78 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



that takes travellers there is to say that they 
have been in one of the state capitals, for it is 
too near the larger and far more attractive city 
to have mnch charm when compared with the 
other. There is a good beach, and it is- possible 
that at some time, perhaps " to-morrow,' ' a 
thriving resort may be bnilt up on that side of 
the blue bay of Rio de Janeiro. 

During the empire, because of the many and 
almost constant scourges of yellow fever, the 
diplomatic corps became solicitous about their 
own health and sought a more healthful resi- 
dence. Receiving the consent of their various 
governments, and the approval of the Emperor, 
a new diplomatic residence was established at 
Petropolis, a two hours' journey from the capi- 
tal. This is the only instance known to me 
where the diplomatic representatives live else- 
where than in the capital of the country to 
which they are accredited. 

The journey to this diplomatic centre is at 
the present time a combined rail and steamer 
journey, although within a very short time, and 
perhaps by the time this work appears, it will 
be possible to make the journey by rail in a 
little more than half the time now necessary. 
If one has the time, however, the combination 



Around and About the Bay 



79 



journey is preferable, because it affords a de- 
lightful journey across the blue waters of the 
bay, past the Fiscal Island with its imposing 
edifice, near a number of other islands to the 
Maua landing where a connection is made with 
the oldest railway in the republic. The first 
rails of this line, which is now a part of the 
Leopoldina System, were laid more than a half 
century ago. Almost immediately after enter- 
ing the train the ascent begins, for it is a climb 
of nearly a thousand metres to this other capi- 
tal of the country. As the train ascends many 
new and varying glimpses are caught of the 
island-studded bay, and even of the city of Eio 
many miles away, with Corcovado and Tijuca 
in the background. The cloud effects vary with 
almost every trip. At times almost the entire 
bay is seen, and then again, only fleeting 
glimpses are visible, as you seem to be looking 
down upon a bed of billowy clouds. When the 
steepest part of the road is reached the train 
is divided into small sections, and the upward 
ascent is aided by the cog system, although very 
powerful locomotives are used. 

A maximum grade of fifteen percent, is 
reached in one or two places, which is a very 
steep climb indeed, and you feel like holding 



80 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



yourself in your seat. Narrow valleys, or 
rather passes, are traversed and there is some 
cultivation, but the most of the way is rather a 
mass of trailing vines and great, branching 
ferns. Blossoming vines and trees add beauty 
to the scene, and immense trees loaded with 
orchids look down upon you in a tantalizing 
way; detached rocks weighing thousands of 
tons are poised on the edge of cliffs, and show 
the glacial effects in these passes. Sometimes 
the brown and grim rocks rise above you like a 
mighty wall a thousand or more feet high, as if 
nature had prepared a natural fort or a gigan- 
tic toboggan slide ready for use. The little 
mountain streams had become swift torrents, 
when I passed over this road, from the effects 
of a severe storm that had just broken on these 
hills. The air becomes much cooler as the eleva- 
tion increases. At last the Alta da Serra, the 
top of the mountain, is reached, and from there 
it is an easy ride down to Petropolis nestling 
between lofty peaks. 

Being the headquarters of a score or more 
representatives of the world's powers, Petropo- 
lis is an important city. Furthermore, during 
the hottest season, it is the fashionable summer 
resort of Brazilian society, and the wealth and 



Around and About the Bay- 



si 



gayety of the capital is transferred to this city. 
From a small agricultural settlement it has 
grown into a social centre, an educational 
centre and the site of a number of cotton mills, 
which are located here because of the abundant 
water power. The scenery about Petropolis is 
beautiful, and affords a number of fine drives 
and horseback jaunts, which are the favourite 
recreation of the diplomats. It is a combination 
of the temperate and tropical zones. Your hot- 
house plants all grow out-of-doors. Ehododen- 
drons are as large as wheat shocks, and the 
azaleas are so large they do not look natural. 
Palms are omnipresent, and the orange with its 
golden fruit ornaments almost every yard. 

The last Emperor, Dom Pedro II., had a 
beautiful home here which is now used as a 
young ladies ' seminary. There are also a num- 
ber of other good schools, among which is a 
school for girls under the auspices of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church South. It is situated on 
the top of a hill above the city. The rooms 
have lofty ceilings eighteen feet high, its bath- 
room is as large as the average living-room, 
and in every way it resembles the palace which 
it once was, rather than a school building. Yet 
as one looks around at the American desks, the 



82 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



blackboards, maps, etc., on the walls, the school 
stamp is readily seen. 

The social season lasts from December to 
May, the Brazilian summer, and during that 
time the social life is gay, but it is rather dull 
the rest of the year. The President, and most of 
his ministers, spend these months here, and 
Petropolis thus becomes the summer capital. 
There are many fine homes of Brazilian fam- 
ilies, and some of the diplomatic representatives 
occupy showy quarters. The home of the 
American Ambassador is a delightful and 
charming place. The air is remarkably cool, 
especially in the evening, even when Eio is 
sweltering. It is quite likely that the official 
residences of the diplomats will be changed to 
Eio at some time in the future, since the sani- 
tary conditions have been so improved, and 
yellow fever is no longer found there, except in 
an occasional sporadic case such as might occur 
at some of our own Gulf ports. 

There are many notable botanical gardens 
in the world, but there is only one, in the general 
concensus of opinion, which is superior to that 
of Eio de Janeiro, and it is in Buitenzorg, 
Java. To the northern traveller every park in 
Eio is a sort of botanical garden, because of the 



Around and About the Bay 



83 



many and new varieties of plants, bnt a visit to 
the famous Jardim Botanico, which is reached 
by one of the " bonds " that start from the 
Avenida Hotel, is a revelation. The route leads 
out through a number of narrow streets. At one 
place a branch line runs to Leme by a tunnel 
through one of the hills, where a pretty stretch 
of beach may be seen. It has become quite a 
favourite resort as well as residence place, and 
is worth a visit. 

Continuing the journey the car passes by a 
small lake, called Lago Ridrigo de Freitas, 
which is a fresh water lake, although separated 
from the sea by only a narrow stretch of land. 
There are some interesting old country-houses 
and modern villas, and a number of cotton fac- 
tories with their rows of workingmen's houses 
built on the community plan. Many fine 
glimpses of Tijuca, the Two Brothers and Cor- 
covado are obtained along the way. At last the 
avenue of palms grows nearer, the car stops 
before a gateway of recent construction, and 
the famous gardens have been reached. Before 
one's vision extends a magnificent avenue of 
lofty royal palms of even height. This avenue, 
composed of one hundred and fifty palms, set 
at equal distances apart, and making a green 



84 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



arch almost a hundred feet above ground, makes 
an imposing picture like a great colonnade, with 
their white trunks. As you look up the avenue 
you see two gigantic walls of gray wood, solidly 
roofed by huge green tufts. It is a living arbor- 
escent gallery, enclosing a path about twenty 
feet wide with a neatly gravelled walk. About 
half-way across is a fountain in the centre of 
the avenue, and here is another avenue of palms 
which runs at right angles to the other, but this 
avenue is far less imposing than the one just de- 
scribed. The contrast between the lofty palms 
and some of the pygmy shrubs and flowers is 
most striking. In one part of the gardens still 
stands a single palm, a tall, slender shaft one 
hundred and twenty-five feet in height, which 
is called the "mother of all the palms.' ' It 
was planted in 1808, the year of the foundation 
of this garden, with elaborate ceremony by the 
Portuguese regent, and from the seeds of this 
palm have been grown all the other royal palms 
in this garden, so it is said. A tablet has been 
placed on this palm bearing a statement of this 
fact. 

Another feature which is most interesting is 
the profusion of bamboos, which are found in 
dense clusters, and also in shady avenues, where 



Around and About the Bay 85 



the tops are so intertwined that it is impossible 
for the snn to penetrate through. One begins 
to appreciate the beauties of the graceful bam- 
boo when seen under such advantageous condi- 
tions. Sometimes an avenue is lined for some 
distance with similar trees, then with others; 
sometimes with one species on one side of the 
walk and an entirely different species on the 
other side; again they are in clumps all alike 
or all different, an endless variety in grouping. 
Fine specimens of the rubber trees are to be 
seen, and one can get a good idea of this tree 
which yields such a valuable article of commerce 
to the world of to-day. The clove, nutmeg, cin- 
namon and other spice-bearing trees, which are 
many decades old, may be seen, as well as speci- 
mens of the tea plant. The " cow tree," which 
secretes a fluid that resembles milk, and a tree 
which, upon being tapped, pours forth a stream 
of pure, cold water may both be found. 

It will not be necessary for one to travel up 
the Amazon to see the vegetation that grows 
there, for specimens of almost every species 
may be found here. Monster trees from the 
Amazon country which overtop even the lofty 
royal palms, and reach a height of from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, grow 



86 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



here luxuriantly. Trees with great buttresses, 
which look like strained muscles, and others, 
with gigantic vines clinging to them, which are 
slowly sapping the life out of the friendly tree, 
grow here, just as they do in the primeval for- 
ests. Parasites of every kind may be seen on 
the trunks, and in the angles formed by the 
limbs. Some of the trees are almost covered 
with these parasitic growths. Orchids, which 
would be almost priceless in the markets of 
New York, are found blooming here amidst the 
wild tangle of vines. Specimens of the gigantic 
lily, called the Victoria Regis, a native of Bra- 
zil, and whose leaves measure from ten to 
twenty feet in diameter, grow in the waters of 
this same garden. There are also little glimpses 
of almost virgin forest, that may be seen in the 
two thousand acres of this treasure-house of 
botanical specimens. The many shades of green 
are varied by the colours of the poincetta and 
other flowers, and in and through all flit birds 
of many hues, swift flying humming birds and 
monstrous butterflies. The researches which 
have been made by the various learned directors 
of these botanical gardens have proven of ines- 
timable value to the scientific world. 

One soon discovers that Rio has more than 



Around and About the Bay 



87 



the seven hills which were boasted by Borne, 
for there are three times that number that look 
down upon the bay. A number of these rounded 
knolls are within the borders of the city itself, 
and the narrow, winding streets crawl up to the 
very summit. Others are surmounted by a few 
houses, while the sides of the hills simply dis- 
play their red slope to the city. But it is to the 
suburbs that one must go for the finest views 
of the city and surrounding country. One of 
the favourite trips is to Tijuca, the summit of 
which is almost reached by an electric line, and 
many of the wealthier people have their summer 
or all-the-year-round homes on its slopes. As 
the road climbs up to the summit, many beauti- 
ful views are obtained of the scenery surround- 
ing Rio. It is a view of peaks, and valleys and 
ocean, for very little of the city is visible. The 
road passes through dense forests, so that 
one is constantly sheltered from the fierce 
sun. 

Sylvan pathways are flanked with beautiful 
plants, shrubs and flowers. Leaping cascades 
are set in veritable flower gardens, and natural 
labyrinths and grottos abound. The highest 
point is nearly fourteen hundred feet above sea 
level. This route is now a favourite automobile 



88 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



drive also, but is not safe to make after heavy 
rains because of the narrow roadway in many 
places. 

It is, however, to Corcovado that one goes for 
a magnificent view of Rio and the bay of the 
same name. This famous hunchback mountain 
almost overshadows the city and the climb up 
affords views of dazzling magnificence. It is a 
great granite cone, precipitous on all sides save 
one, and an electric line, which follows this 
slope, now takes the traveller almost to the very 
summit. Leaving the station in the city, the 
road first runs over the old and well-preserved 
Carioca Aqueduct where, for a few blocks, the 
car runs along high above the red-tiled roofs of 
the capital city. Then it begins the climb up 
along the side of the mountain. Now one ob- 
tains a view of the bay, and again one looks 
out over the city to the Serra da Mar mountains 
in the distance ; again it is Tijuca, or the peak 
of Tingue, that dominates the horizon. The 
abandoned aqueduct follows the bends of the 
road and has been broken in many places, for 
new water pipes now carry the water supply 
from the original source. An old and famous 
convent, Santa Theresa, is seen, where hus- 
bands used to place their wives for safekeeping 



Around and About the Bay 



89 



when departing on a military expedition. Past 
hotels, villages and showy private homes the 
road winds and twists. Finally the line changes 
to the rack system, as the grade becomes more 
steep, and at last, after a climb for a few min- 
utes np steps hewed ont of the solid rock, the 
little pavilion is reached that crowns the moun- 
tain's summit. Here beautiful views meet the 
gaze of the traveller in every direction ; moun- 
tains on one side, the sea and beautiful bay on 
the other. On a clear day a panorama of fifty 
square miles may be seen with the unaided eye. 
Sheer precipices of more or less bare rock ex- 
tend down for a distance of fifteen hundred 
feet or more. A stone merely dropped over the 
crowning walls would descend to the plains 
below. It is to the bay that one will turn with 
most interest. There, in the distance, is the 
seemingly narrow channel through which all 
boats must pass on their way to the city. Then 
nearer to the city is the famous Sugar Loaf, 
with its curious outline. The blue waters of 
the bay studded with numerous small islands, 
the curved shores, the white streaks which mark 
the cities, and the broad white line, which indi- 
cates the Avenida Central and the Beira Mar, 
acquire a new meaning, and become photo- 



90 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



graphed upon one's memory in indelible col- 
ours; it is then one fully realizes that he is 
gazing upon one of the most beautiful pano- 
ramas that nature has prepared for the delec- 
tation of mankind. 



r 



CHAPTER V 

MINAS GEEAES AND MINING 

Thebe is another route to Bello Horizonte, 
the capital of the state of Minas Geraes, but I 
chose the one through Petropolis, because I was 
to have the pleasure of the company of the 
American Embassador. Petropolis was the one 
time capital of the state of Eio de Janeiro. 
There are other cities in the state of Rio besides 
Petropolis. Among these are Therezopolis, 
which occupies a magnificent site on a com- 
manding hill that gives a fine view of the sur- 
rounding country, and Nova Friburgo, the old- 
est immigrant settlement in Brazil. This city 
was established almost a century ago by a 
number of Swiss colonists, and is reached by 
another railway of almost an equal ascent with 
the route to Petropolis, heretofore described. 
This little colony has grown into a prosperous 
settlement and preserves many of the charac- 
teristics of the race which founded it. 

Boarding the semi-weekly express train at 

91 



92 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Petropolis, which is here termed " grande 
velocidade," we were soon winding around the 
hills and through the narrow passes threaded 
by the river. Occasionally little primitive vil- 
lages and a few unimportant adobe towns pic- 
turesquely grouped along the banks of the 
stream were passed. The scenery is beautiful 
as pass after pass unfolds itself on the journey 
down to lower altitudes. One is impressed by 
the extent of mountainous territory which is 
encountered by the traveller all over the repub- 
lic, with the exception of the country traversed 
by the mighty Amazon and its tributaries. It 
is a constant surprise to see the vast amount 
of soil in Brazil that is actually without devel- 
opment. Mile after mile of this land, which is 
within a comparatively short distance of the 
capital, had the appearance of never having 
been occupied by settlers, or ever having been 
disttrrbed by agriculturists. Although broken 
it could well be adapted to the raising of stock, 
at least for sheep and goats, for these animals 
would find sustenance. It seemed to me that 
cattle could be raised profitably also, since it 
would not be necessary to feed them, as pasture 
will grow all the year round. 

The few natives who did live in the little mud- 



Minas Geraes and Mining 93 



brick huts, with thatch roofs, that cling to the 
side of the hills eked out a very poor existence, 
if one judged by the appearance of everything 
around their homes. A few chickens and pigs 
with plenty of dogs, perhaps a mule and a cow, 
constituted the only stock that one could see. 
A little patch of corn, a banana stalk or two, 
and perhaps a patch of mandioca root, seemed 
to be the only attempt at agriculture of the im- 
provident negro or poor whites who dwell on 
these beautiful hills. The houses contain only 
the very crudest of furniture with rude beds 
and the very simplest of culinary outfit. Na- 
ture is perhaps too bountiful, and man depends 
upon that bounty rather than his own exertions. 

The mandioca is a small shrub with a tuber- 
ous root that grows in nearly every part of 
Brazil. It grows to the enormous size of fifteen 
and twenty pounds, and somewhat resembles an 
enormous radish or sugar beet. In its natural 
state it contains a very poisonous juice which 
must be eliminated before the real substance 
can be used for food. It is first pressed and 
then washed, and the water must be thrown 
away for it is poisonous. The root is then 
ground into a meal which is very rich in starch. 
One large root will sometimes produce as much 



94 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



as two gallons of this prepared meal. After 
being crushed the meal is at once roasted, or 
otherwise it will turn sour and be spoiled. Tap- 
ioca is one of the products of this tropical tuber. 
The utilization of this root was first discovered 
by the Indians, who found a method of getting 
rid of the poisonous qualities. To-day, the 
mandioca, or farina, flour is one of the principal 
articles of food in Brazil, not only among the 
poorer classes but also with the well-to-do. 
Many of the articles served on the hotel tables 
are thickened with the mandioca meal. This, 
with rice and beans, furnishes the almost exclu- 
sive food of the poor. On the railway trains 
one will see that this meal comprises one of the 
chief articles of the lunches which have been 
brought by one's fellow passengers. 

It is perhaps wrong to think only of the prac- 
tical in the midst of scenes of natural beauty, 
but as our train whirled along with its grande 
velocidade, past rapids which could be con- 
verted into incalculable power for the manu- 
facturing so essential in the world, I could not 
refrain from thinking what fine power was here 
going to waste. A little of it is utilized in gen- 
erating electricity for the cities of Nictheroy 
and Petropolis, and there are a few cotton mills 



Minas Geraes and Mining 95 



run by the water power of this stream. Not 
one unit of the available power is utilized, how- 
ever, although in this land of expensive fuel 
there is a great call for electric power and cur- 
rent. At last the Parahyba Biver, a still finer 
stream of water, is reached and the railroad 
follows up this stream. At Entre Kios (which 
means " between the rivers ") a change is 
made from the Leopoldina Eailway to the Cen- 
tral, which is a government line. After a couple 
of hours the train reaches Juiz de Fora, which 
is the largest town in the state of Minas Geraes. 
In 1867 Juiz de Fora was described by a writer 
as a town with ' 6 a single dusty or muddy street, 
or rather road, across which palms are planted 
in pairs. 99 

At the present time this city contains a popu- 
lation of perhaps twenty-five or thirty thousand 
people. It is in a region of great productive- 
ness, and in a mild and semi-tropical climate. 
The surrounding hilly country forms a rich and 
extensive coffee district, and is also very fa- 
vourable to the growth of corn and beans, as 
well as other products. Cattle raising is also 
an important industry. It is a comparatively 
modern town, and its streets are laid out much 
wider than the older towns. There are several 



96 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



colleges here, and the public schools are unusu- 
ally good, so that the number of educated per- 
sons is exceeded by few places in the entire re- 
public. Several small manufacturing industries 
have been established to make use of the rapids 
in the Parahyba River which flows through the 
city. 

About a ten hours' journey in a northerly di- 
rection from Juiz de Fora lies Bello Horizonte, 
the new capital of the state of Minas Geraes. 
After leaving Juiz de Fora the railroad climbs 
the higher altitudes, and it is not long until the 
coffee region is left behind. The atmosphere 
becomes cooler and more exhilarating as the 
altitude increases. Like most of the cities Bello 
Horizonte is built in a valley surrounded by 
hills, with a river running through it. It is a 
city made to order, for the site was selected 
only sixteen years ago. At that time there was 
scarcely a habitation on the chosen site, but the 
location seemed to please the government and 
so it was decided to erect a city to be used as 
a capital. Like La Plata, in Argentina, it is a 
city built after an architect's designs, and, be- 
cause of the elaborate plans made for it, was 
given the name " bello," which signifies beauti- 
ful. It has been likened by the enthusiastic 



Minas G-eraes and Mining 



97 



Brazilians to our own city of Washington, be- 
cause of its broad avenues and many plazas, 
and the modern style of its buildings. The 
principal avenue, Affonso Penna, named after 
the late President, who founded this city while 
he was President of the state, is one hundred 
and fifty feet broad, and has a triple row of 
shade trees its entire length. The public build- 
ings are attractive because of their newness, 
and are a radical departure from most of the 
public buildings that one may see in Brazil. A 
magnificent palace for the executive has been 
erected, and a number of buildings for the legis- 
lature and other branches of the government. 
The city is well lighted and is altogether a 
bright and cheery place. 

The state of Minas Geraes is one of the larg- 
est and most important states in Brazil. It is 
larger than France and contains a population 
of more than four millions of people. It derives 
its names from its mineral wealth, for Minas 
Geraes signifies general mines. It has within 
its borders many mines, and possesses the old- 
est gold mine in the country. There are many 
small towns but no large cities, so that most 
of the population dwell in small villages. Much 
of this state, like many of the others, is still 



98 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



undeveloped, and railroads have not yet pene- 
trated large sections of it. 

This state has the honour of having struck 
the first blow for freedom from the oppressive 
rule of Portugal. Joachim Jose de Silva 
Xavier is the traditional hero of this event in 
Brazil. This patriot was a travelling dentist 
and, because of his occupation, was nicknamed 
Tiradentes, which means " to draw teeth." He 
belonged to a club of men who had banded to- 
gether for patriotic purposes. Spurred on by 
the success of the American revolution, and 
angered by the attempt of the mother country 
to impose iniquitous taxes upon the colony, 
these men met in secret for many months. 
Tiradentes in his trips around the country 
preached his revolutionary doctrine, and many 
new adherents were added to their cause. The 
wandering dentist was probably not the origi- 
nator of the various schemes of this body of 
dreamers, for far abler men than he were among 
them, but he probably did more to spread the 
doctrine than any of the others. At length, in 
1789, before their plans were fully matured, the 
plot was discovered, and the leaders were ar- 
rested in Ouro Preto, at that time the capital, 
and thrust into prison in that city. They were 



Minas (Seraes and Mining 



99 



imprisoned in dark and damp cells for many 
months, pending the trial and decision of the 
matter. 

Each one of the conspirators was finally con- 
demned to death, but all escaped this extreme 
penalty through influential connections, except 
the unfortunate Tiradentes. He was made the 
scapegoat of the whole affair, and was executed 
in the public square of Ouro Preto, on the 21st 
of April, 1792. His body was quartered and the 
head exposed in that city. The right arm and 
leg, and also the left arm and leg, were each 
sent to different cities, there to be exposed pub- 
licly as a warning to other possible conspira- 
tors. His house was torn down and the ground 
salted to purify it ; and it was ordered that no 
building ever again be constructed on that 
tainted soil. His property was confiscated ; his 
family and their descendants were declared 
" infamous " and disgraced, even to the third 
generation. To-day, the name of Tiradentes is 
honoured all over Brazil, monuments have been 
erected to him and streets named after him in 
many cities. In the principal plaza of Ouro 
Preto is a marble column, upon which stands a 
statue of the martyred " tooth-puller. 7 9 The 
pedestal of this monument is the original stone 



100 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



on which he was exposed in a pillory and pub- 
licly scourged, on the very spot on which now 
stands his splendid monument. Many of the 
places connected with this conspiracy are pre- 
served; and even the spot on which stood the 
house of Tiradentes, which was destroyed by 
order of the government, is sacredly preserved 
and guarded for the patriotic lessons which it 
teaches. 

A branch of the Central Kailroad runs from 
the main line back among the hills to this city 
of Ouro Preto, the ' 6 black gold. ' ' It lies in the 
hollow of a narrow valley and is completely sur- 
rounded by high, rock-capped hills. All about 
the hills are the rough, red and gray, yellow and 
brown holes made by the old miners, which have 
been enlarged and washed by the rains. The 
roughly paved streets ascending and descending 
the hills are narrow, crooked and irregular. 
Carts and carriages are of little use, and the 
freight is generally carried on the backs of pack 
mules. One can see building timbers, stones, 
flour and water thus carried through the streets 
of Ouro Preto on almost any day. 

Although gold mining in Brazil never reached 
the proportions it did in Mexico and Peru, it 
was no inconsiderable factor in the early devel- 



Minas Geraes and Mining 



101 



opment of the country, As early as the middle 
of the sixteenth century, parties of intrepid 
pioneers had penetrated several hundred miles 
into the interior. They found auriferous 
ground in some of the streams in what is now 
the state of Minas Geraes. As soon as the news 
reached the settlements other parties of explor- 
ers followed, and the tablelands, mountains and 
streams of this district were overrun from Sao 
Paulo to the south and from Bahia on the east. 
One can not help but admire the rugged courage 
of these sturdy prospectors, who set out into 
the tractless forests and moorlands in search of 
the yellow metal. They bridged rivers, en- 
slaved the Indians and dotted the province with 
little settlements. It was not long until a small 
but steady stream of gold was trickling across 
the sea to Portugal. The crown exacted a tax 
of twenty per cent, on the entire output, and 
this naturally led to a great deal of smuggling. 

Because of this surreptitious mining it is im- 
possible to give the entire output of the gold 
mines of this province. Official records, how- 
ever, show that between the years 1700 and 
1820, no less than thirty million ounces hav- 
ing a value of more than $500,000,000 were pro- 
duced. Legends of the fabulous production of 



102 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



certain mines are recounted, and a few mines 
were worked for more than a century. 

Because of the crude methods in use, and the 
difficulty of working them at great depths, many 
of the mines were abandoned before they were 
really exhausted. One of the principal mines 
now worked is the Morro Velho, which was 
operated in a desultory way for a long time by 
the colonial settlers. In 1818 it was pronounced 
exhausted. A few years later this mine was 
reopened and has been worked by an English 
company ever since, and is still producing a 
profitable output. It has now reached a great 
depth. Gold is found nearly all over the state 
of Minas, although the production to-day is not 
so great as in the earlier days. A great deal of 
it is low grade ore, which can be worked profit- 
ably only with the latest improved machinery, 
so that not only the cost of operation can be 
reduced to a minimum but the greatest percent- 
age of the gold and silver may be extracted 
from the gravel and quartz. 

Many other minerals are found in this state, 
but few of them are worked. There are a num- 
ber of iron outcrops reported which are said to 
be composed of almost pure ore. Copper has 
been found in Minas, as well as in several other 



Minas Geraes and Mining 103 



states, although little exploitation has been 
done, and platinum is also mined. Brazil con- 
tains the largest mines of manganese ore that 
have yet been discovered. This metal promises 
to be of more value in the future. Monazite, an 
essential element in the manufacture of mantles 
for incandescent gas lights, is mined in large 
quantities and shipped to Europe. 

Many precious stones are found in Brazil. 
Among them are amethysts, tourmalines, aqua- 
marines, topaz — and, lastly, the diamond. 
India was the original source of diamonds. In 
1728, almost two centuries ago, these precious 
stones were first discovered in Brazil. For a 
century and a half Brazil held the absolute 
supremacy in the production of diamonds, until 
the discovery of the South African fields trans- 
ferred the centre of the diamond industry to 
that region. Although the number of diamonds 
of Brazil to-day is far less than those of South 
Africa, it is said by experts that the Brazilian 
diamonds have a far larger proportion of what 
are classed as the " first water," those which 
have a tinge of bluish steel in them, than any 
other country, and the diamonds of that country 
bring the very highest market price. 

The centre of the diamond industry in Brazil 



104 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



is at Diaraantina, in the state of Minas Geraes, 
although these precious stones are also found 
in the states of Motto Grosso, Bahia, Goyaz, and 
Parana. Heretofore the methods of mining dia- 
monds in Brazil have been of the very crudest 
sort, the same that have been used almost from 
the time of the first discovery. Just recently 
American capital has purchased the leading 
mines, and modern dredging machinery has 
been installed, as well as machinery for the 
separation of the gravel products from the dia- 
monds. These machines are run by water 
power generated from the streams along which 
the diamonds are found. This will revolution- 
ize the diamond industry in Brazil, and the pos- 
sibilities are that the production of diamonds 
in that country will be greatly increased. 

There is, and has always been, a fascination 
about the diamond. Not only is it unrivalled 
for lustre, brilliancy and fire, but it is so hard 
that no known substance can cut it or make the 
slightest indentation save another diamond. 
The popular saying that it takes a diamond to 
cut a diamond is literally true. Furthermore, 
it is composed of pure carbon, and is thus re- 
lated to two of the commonest of substances, 
coal and graphite. The appearance of the dia- 



Minas Geraes and Mining 



105 



mond when first picked up is very different 
from its appearance after the skillful cutter 
and polisher have done their work, for it is very 
dull and the non-expert would probably not 
recognize it. 

The discovery of the diamonds in Brazil was 
by accident. In searching for gold and silver 
some singular stones, supposed to be pebbles, 
were discovered. The negro labourers were at- 
tracted by their uncommon qualities and geo- 
metric forms, and showed them to their mas- 
ters. In the card games which were popular 
in the mining camps these pebbles had been 
used for counters. At length, an officer, who 
had been in India, and had seen the diamonds 
of that country, suspicioned their real nature. 
Upon a comparison of the weight with other 
pebbles he found a great difference. As a re- 
sult some were sent to Lisbon to be examined, 
from whence they were forwarded to Holland, 
and the Hollanders pronounced them to be real 
diamonds. It has been estimated that during 
the one hundred and eighty-one years since the 
discovery of diamonds, Brazil has produced two 
and one-half metric tons of these valuable 
stones, or twelve million carats. The value of 
the production each year amounts to about one 



106 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



million dollars of actual value. This is small 
in comparison with the mines of South Africa, 
but no such force or vitality has been expended 
in the mining. And yet the production is much 
simpler. The diamantiferous fields of South 
Africa have required the most expensive ma- 
chinery, and every device that human ingenuity 
could devise for the successful extraction of the 
diamonds. In Brazil, so far as discovered, the 
diamond deposits are all alluvial and are found 
on the surface, and in or along the beds of riv- 
ers. Hence no deep mining is necessary as in 
Africa. These river gravels also contain a con- 
siderable amount of gold, which helps to pay 
the cost of dredging. The primitive processes 
in use are very similar to those in use in placer 
gold washing. The gravel is dug out and placed 
in small wooden bowls. The miners then pro- 
ceed to a convenient place on the stream and 
laboriously wash out their material, gradually 
getting rid of the particles not wanted. Some- 
times a pit is excavated, and a part of the 
stream diverted into it for the washing process. 

Although no diamonds have been found in 
Brazil as large as some of the extraordinary 
gems that have been unearthed in the Kimberly 
mines, some beautiful and large stones have 



Minas G-eraes and Mining 



107 



been discovered. One of these, called the 
" Regent of Portugal," weighed two hundred 
and fifteen carats, and has been estimated to be 
worth more than a million dollars. It is now 
numbered among the French state jewels. An- 
other was the ' 1 Star of the South, ' ' which was 
found by a negress who was at work in the 
mines near Diamantina. This diamond weighed 
in the rough two hundred and fifty-four and 
one-half carats, but when cut was reduced to 
one hundred and twenty-five carats. It is a fine 
stone of first quality. A large one was dis- 
covered in 1908 which was one and one-third 
inches long and three-quarters of an inch in 
width, which would make it of extraordinary 
size. 

The. discovery of the Braganza diamond is 
an interesting story. This was in 1791. Three 
men who had been convicted of capital offences 
were sent out into exile among the Indians and 
wild beasts. As they were forbidden to enter 
any city, or hold any communication with the 
world, they searched for treasure. While wash- 
ing for gold in the Abaite River, they were at- 
tracted by the gleam of a curious stone. As 
diamond washing was prohibited they took the 
stone to a priest. He ventured to lead them to 



108 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the governor, and the diamond was presented 
to him. At the request of the priest the three 
men were pardoned, but the government re- 
tained the gem. 

The black diamonds, called " carbonados," 
are found in greater quantities in Brazil than 
in any other country. These are used solely for 
commercial purposes in making points for 
drills. They are as hard as the other diamonds, 
but lack the transparency and brilliancy of the 
white stones. The " carbonados " are found 
in much larger sizes than the others, one of 
three thousand and seventy-eight carats having 
been discovered. These stones have a consid- 
erable value and are worth from $25 to $75 per 
carat, the price depending upon the demand and 
supply. Nothing has ever been discovered that 
is so good for drilling hard rocks as the dia- 
mond drills made from these " carbonados,' ' 
and they have been successfully used in drilling 
many railroad tunnels. 



CHAPTER VI 



A PROGRESSIVE STATE 

It is a distance of three hundred miles from 
Rio to Sao Paulo, the second city in the repub- 
lic, and the ride is very interesting, especially 
so for the first two or three hours. This time 
is taken by the railway line to climb over the 
ridge of mountains, which everywhere pass 
close to the shore. For some time after leaving 
the Central station in Rio, the train passes 
through the city and suburban towns, over 
which a good and frequent suburban service is 
run. Then a strip of rather low land gives the 
traveller a fairly good view of a Brazilian for- 
est of small trees and undergrowth, matted to- 
gether with parasites, and forming an almost 
compact mass of green in which many orchids 
may be seen. Fairly well cultivated fields are 
passed at intervals until the ascent begins at 
Belem, from which time there is very little cul- 
tivation. Some grand glimpses of mountain 
scenery are revealed as the train turns around 

109 



no Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



bends and emerges from one or another of the 
numerous tunnels along the line. Mountains, 
hills and valleys, flowing streams and cascades, 
mingle in a panorama of wonderful beauty. At 
Barra do Pirahy the Sao Paulo road branches 
off from the line to Bello Horizonte, and gradu- 
ally descends to lower levels. 

Much of the land, as the slopes become less 
steep, has been cultivated in the past with 
coffee, but it is now abandoned. Dead, or 
nearly dead, coffee trees are still standing 
amidst the wild growth that has sprung up 
since the land was abandoned. This part of 
Minas Geraes was at one time regarded as one 
of the richest coffee sections in Brazil, and 
would be valuable land even to-day were it not 
for the improvident and wasteful methods of 
the average planter. The trees were planted 
too thick, and no effort made to place back in 
the soil any of the elements taken out. It was 
considered cheaper to buy virgin soil in a new 
location than to do anything to build up the 
land already owned. The same thing is seen in 
other parts of Minas Geraes and the state of 
Eio de Janeiro, the latter being the state in 
which was originally grown the famous 4 1 Eio ' ' 
coffee. 



A Progressive State ill 



The road follows the Parahyba River most 
of the way, sometimes on one bank and again 
on the other. The valleys become broader, al- 
though occasionally a cut is made through an 
interesting ridge. The towns are more numer- 
ous and larger during the last hundred miles. 
The Italian element grows more pronounced, 
and many Italians may be seen at the stations 
and on the trains. Ox teams drawing clumsy 
carts seem to be the principal conveyances for 
freight, and two-wheeled carriages of an anti- 
quated type, which must have been the originals 
of the London hansom cabs, convey the passen- 
gers. At one station an old style automobile 
was sandwiched in between these two classes of 
vehicles, and it seemed strangely out of place, 
except that the automobile was as antiquated 
for that class of conveyances as the others were 
in their line. 

Immense ant hills dot the landscape in many 
places. These hills are oftentimes from three 
to four or five feet in height, and look strangely 
like old-fashioned bee hives with their rounded 
tops. The red dust sifts in through the car 
windows in clouds. As the windows must be 
kept closed on this account, one is given a turk- 
ish bath under very disadvantageous circum- 



112 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



stances. Furthermore, no matter how hot it is, 
the sweltering traveller is not permitted to re- 
move his coat, as that is a breach of etiquette 
not allowed here. I tried it and was immedi- 
ately requested very politely to put it on. You 
may expectorate on the floor as much as you 
like, but to remove your coat — 1 ' No, Senhor ; 
it is against the rules of the company." 

The dust is caused by the red clay which is 
used as a ballast here because it is found all 
along the line, and is cheaper than stone. A 
few coffee fields are passed, and then we enter 
a valley many miles broad, and one has ,his first 
glimpse of really level land in Brazil. At 
length, after eleven hours' ride, the train rolls 
into the Norte station of the City of Sao Paulo, 
and the carigadores begin their struggle for 
your luggage. Then, after being released from 
their clutches, you are turned over to the tender 
mercies of the cabman, and the traveller wel- 
comes the comfort of a bath in his hotel to get 
rid of the dust of travel. 

The city of Sao (pronounced Sah-o, with a 
nasal sound after the a) Paulo is the second 
city in the republic in population and commer- 
cial importance. It is situated on a plain with 
low hills upon the entire horizon. Its popula- 



A Progressive State 113 



tion is in the neighbourhood of three hundred 
and fifty thousand. Although little coffee is 
produced within fifty miles of Sao Paulo, yet 
it is the centre of that trade, and the great in- 
crease in the production has caused the won- 
derful growth of this city. It is more like an 
American city than any of the other Brazilian 
towns, because, in whatever direction one looks, 
the high smoke-stacks of some of the many fac- 
tories may be seen. The suburbs are many and 
new, and everywhere are signs of building ac- 
tivity and the construction of public improve- 
ments. The growth of the city has really been 
marvellous. Twenty years ago Sao Paulo was 
a comparatively unimportant city of twenty-five 
thousand people. Now it has grown and broad- 
ened out until it covers a wide territory. Eeal 
estate values have increased until to-day real 
estate on Sua Sao Bento, or Eua Quinze de 
Novembro (15th of November), is almost as 
high as on the principal streets in similar towns 
of the United States. It has become the distrib- 
uting and manufacturing centre for this, the 
most progressive state in the republic. The 
temperature of Sao Paulo may have something 
to do with the energetic character of the people. 
Although the latitude is not much different 



114 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



from Rio, its altitude of more than 2,000 feet 
renders the climate very agreeable. I was there 
in the middle of their summer, and, although 
the days were quite warm, the nights were de- 
lightfully cool, and blankets were very com- 
fortable on one's bed. 

The business centre of the city is a triangle 
composed of the two streets above mentioned, 
and the Eua Direita, the straight street. 
Around this triangle in the afternoons the 
ladies walk on their shopping tours; in the 
evening it is the promenade, and all the people 
who are down town at night may be seen some- 
where on that route. Sao Paulo is not a typi- 
cal Brazilian town, for it has outgrown many 
of those characteristics to be seen in the towns 
which are more peculiarly Portuguese. There 
is a large foreign element, and their influence is 
notable in every part of the city, and even in 
the life of the Paulistas themselves. A great 
deal of the exclusiveness of the family life has 
disappeared, and the young women of the city 
may be seen out upon the street on a shopping 
tour, or performing an errand, unaccompanied 
by the duenna, which would be unknown in 
more conservative Rio. There are perhaps one 
hundred thousand Italians in the city, and 




RUA DIREITA, SAO PAULO. 



A Progressive State 



115 



added to these are several thousands of other 
nationalities, with only a small sprinkling of 
those of American birth. And yet, although the 
number of Americans is small, the American 
influence is paramount, and everywhere I went, 
among high officials or business men, I found 
a great interest in things American, and an 
effort to copy after and learn from the institu- 
tions in the United States. Their aim is prog- 
ress and, although some of the methods are 
rather crude and sometimes impractical, the 
effort is apparent and great good is being done. 

The Tramways, Light and Power Company 
of Sao Paulo has had a great influence in this 
city and has, I believe, been an educational fea- 
ture in the business development. It is owned 
by the same group of capitalists who control the 
company having similar concessions in Eio, but 
their influence is more easily traced here. The 
charter of this company is Canadian, but its 
methods are strictly what we term American, 
and a number of our fellow-citizens are at work 
with it. Brazilian young men consider it a 
credit to be in the employ of this company. 
They furnish an excellent system of electric 
traction with about eighty miles of track. The 
electricity is developed from a waterfall on the 



116 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Tiete Kiver, a few miles away. A great deal 
of freight is hauled on the tram lines, and it is 
no uncommon sight to see car load after car 
load of squealing pork hauled through the 
streets. 

English is taught in the public schools, and is 
a required language before a degree is given, 
so that it will not be many years before the edu- 
cated classes will all have a knowledge of that 
language. " And," said the able director of 
the schools, " we aim to teach a conversational 
knowledge of the language and not merely a 
reading knowledge." " Furthermore," he 
said, " we are copying after the educational 
methods of the United States just as fast as it 
is possible to introduce new methods. It can 
not all be done at once, for certain prejudices 
exist in favour of the old systems." 

" Estado, Senhor? Correiof " These are 
the cries that greet one's ears as the hustling 
little newsboys ply their trade, just as their 
counterparts do in our own land. This city 
supports a dozen dailies. The two above men- 
tioned are very enterprising publications, 
which publish more foreign news than the 
average American daily, although the most of 
it is European. Then the lotteries are every- 



A Progressive State 117 



where in evidence. In some blocks there are 
three or fonr agencies, besides the vendors on 
the streets. The Brazilians are born gamblers, 
and this is their favourite method of wooing the 
fickle goddess of fortune. There is a national 
lottery, and perhaps the next most popular one 
is that of this state. There is a drawing nearly 
every day, with an occasional grand prize of 
fifty thousand dollars. I met one American 
who had just drawn a prize of sixty thousand 
dollars in the National lottery, and this had 
caused quite a flutter in the English speaking 
colony. The people forget that not one dollar 
is paid out for perhaps four that are paid in, 
but they are always hoping that the lightning 
will strike in their direction. Men, women and 
school children, people in silk and rags, black, 
white and brown, all buy the little strips of 
paper with the magic numbers on them, and 
they eagerly scan the drawings when posted. 
Brazil is not alone in this folly, however, for 
all the republics surrounding her encourage the 
same form of gambling. 

As Sao Paulo is the capital of a state there 
are the usual public buildings that one will find 
for the transaction of the public business. The 
finest and most imposing building in the city is 



118 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the Municipal Theatre, which is a very fair 
rival to the one in Rio de Janeiro. It is not 
quite finished as yet, but the exterior is very 
fine and in good taste. There are some beauti- 
ful homes on the Avenida Tiradentes and the 
Avenida Paulista, the latter being a compara- 
tively new street. The new thoroughfares are 
broad and roomy, while the streets in the old 
town are, for the most part, very narrow and 
illy adapted for the traffic of a large city. This 
is overcome to a certain extent by allowing the 
cars and street traffic to move only one way on 
many streets. 

Just beyond Sao Paulo, and only a short ride 
by electric car, is a magnificent building known 
as the Ypiranga, which deserves more than 
passing notice, for it is built on the site of the 
birthplace of Brazilian independence. Dom 
Pedro, representative of the Portuguese au- 
thority in Brazil, was also the son of the King 
of Portugal. In the struggles between Brazil 
and the Cortes of Lisbon, which was striving to 
increase the taxes of that country, and at the 
same time remove what little constitutional 
liberty had been granted, this prince was heart 
and soul on the side of the people. During the 
long struggle Dom Pedro had ingratiated him- 



A Progressive State 119 



self with the people, until all were united with 
him. Insult was heaped upon the Brazilian 
deputies in the Cortes, by refusing to let them 
speak in behalf of their country's cause. At 
length a peremptory order was sent to Dom 
Pedro ordering his immediate return to Portu- 
gal. The messenger bearing this decree met the 
prince as he was returning with a hunting party 
on the bank of a little stream called the ' ' Ypi- 
ranga." Upon reading it he called upon his 
followers, and declared that he would never 
leave Brazil. " Independence on morte (inde- 
pendence or death), is my watchword, 99 said he. 
The party took up this watchword, and it spread 
like wildfire all over the land. This was on the 
7th of September, 1822, and a month later Dom 
Pedro was proclaimed Emperor of Brazil. One 
will find many streets in Brazil named 7th de 
Setembro, in commemoration of this grito, or 
shout of independence. 

The museum is very imposing, as it stands 
on an eminence that overlooks the country for 
miles around. It is built of marble, but the red 
sand of the country has given it a very peculiar 
effect, almost like that of old ivory. It contains 
much that is of scientific interest. Especially 
fine is the collection of humming birds, beetles 



120 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and butterflies. There are several specimens of 

the Louvadeus grasshopper, which raises its 
feelers and poses itself almost in the attitude 
of prayer. The name means " praise God." 
One of the principal objects of interest is a 
large painting representing the scene when the 
prince pronounced the watchword " independ- 
ence or death." 

The governments of several different states 
are endeavouring to induce immigrants to come 
in.. The efforts of Sao Paulo have been most 
successful, and their methods are copied by 
other states. This state maintains a splendid 
immigration office in the city of Sao Paulo, 
which is strictly up to date. The immigrants 
upon landing at Santos are taken by special 
train to this station, and here they are kept for 
a week or ten days at government expense. 
During this time they are housed in excellent 
quarters, given good food, and kept under the 
supervision of doctors. Many have had their 
entire expenses from their homes paid by the 
government. In these buildings are offices 
where immigrants are secured employment on 
the various fazendas. A record is kept of each 
fazendero to see if he carries out his contracts. 
Notices are posted up where labour is wanted 



A Progressive State 121 



on fazendas or railroads. Written contracts 
are made and signed between employer and 
employee in legal form. The wages generally 
received are from $.90 to $1.25 per day for 
such labourers. Interpreters are kept who are 
able to converse in the many languages that will 
be required. The labourer is then forwarded 
to his destination in the interior at government 
expense. It is far different from the way they 
are received in our own land, and I only wish 
that a few hundred thousand of those seeking 
the shores of the United States each year would 
turn their steps down this way. They would be 
better off there than they are in our own great 
cities. 

When I visited this immigration station there 
were about nine hundred immigrants there 
who had just been landed. Of this number 
four-fifths were Spaniards, with a sprinkling of 
Eussians, Poles, Austrians, Hungarians and 
Italians. A few days later I saw a couple of 
hundred more of the same varied nationalities 
landed at Santos, and loaded on a special train 
for Sao Paulo. I always pity these poor immi- 
grants who come to a new country with no 
money, few clothes, many children, and nothing 
else but a big hope of something, or faith in 



122 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



somebody, in their breast. The total number 
of immigrants reaching all Brazil in the past 
year, the excess over those leaving, would not 
exceed eighty thousand. 

The government of Sao Paulo has established 
a number of colonies in the state, one or two 
of which I visited. In these colonies the land 
is platted in tracts of about fifty acres, which 
are sold to the colonists at $500 per tract, pay- 
able one-tenth each year. The colonist is al- 
lowed to live one year free of charge in the 
colony house, but within this time he must con- 
struct his own home. Some of these colonies 
have proven quite successful, and many immi- 
grants have thus been able to acquire a home 
with their own vine and fig tree surrounding 
it. It is certainly the best thing for the colonist, 
for he has a chance to secure his own home and 
that ought to be a stimulus to bring out the best 
there is in a man. In the less developed part 
of the state, lands will be given the colonist 
practically free. 

The Italian element in Brazil is large, and is 
increasing each year by immigration. In all 
of the cities of southern Brazil the Italians are 
numerous, but they probably reach their largest 
percentage in the state of Sao Paulo, where 



A Progressive State 123 



they number about forty per cent, of the popu- 
lation. Of the two and a half millions of people 
in that state there are perhaps one million of 
Italian birth. Everywhere one can see evi- 
dences of these children of sunny Italy, who 
have sought homes in the new land because of 
the overcrowding at home. Most of them come 
from northern Italy, and they are said to make 
better workmen than those from Southern 
Italy. It would be difficult for the coffee plant- 
ers to work their plantations were it not for 
these people, and every plantation has one or 
several colonies of these labourers. They are 
generally preferred to the negro labourers by 
the planters. The most of them are industrious 
and frugal. Many of them eventually join one 
of the government colonies, and purchase a 
small tract of land; others become tradesmen, 
and open a small store to cater to those of 
their own nationality; still others travel from 
door to door selling small household articles 
needed by the housewives. One will hear the 
same street cries, see the same character- 
istic packs and bundles, and observe the same 
styles of dress that are common in the north- 
ern provinces of Italy. In recent years 
the number of Italians coming to Brazil has 



124 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



decreased because of restrictions of the Italian 
government. 

There is still an abundance of soil in this 
state, nearly three times as large as all New 
England, awaiting development. The entire 
western half, which is composed of fertile vir- 
gin soil, is practically unexploited. The recent 
completion of the railroad, which follows the 
Tiete Eiver to its junction with the Parana, will 
open that section to emigration. Along this 
river, and the other water courses of the state, 
much fine hardwood timber is found that is well 
adapted for finishing lumber. Some of the 
woods are similar to and will take as fine a 
polish as mahogany. The difficulty is in mar- 
keting them. The logs will not float, so that it 
is necessary to build rafts on which to trans- 
port them. As none of the streams flow direct 
to the Atlantic, the logs must be sent down 
through the La Plata system, and the many 
waterfalls make this impracticable. Cheap 
railroad rates furnish the only solution to this 
problem. 

The water power awaiting development in 
this state is almost incredible. As the rainfall 
is large and frequent the volume of water is 
constant and reliable. On the Tiete Eiver alone 



A Progressive State 125 



there are hundreds of feet of hydraulic falls 
that could furnish thousands of horsepower 
energy for practical purposes. The same 
might be said of the Piracicaba, the Rio Grande, 
the Paranapanema, and the Mogy-Guassu Riv- 
ers, as well as the mighty Parana itself, which 
forms the western boundary of Sao Paulo. 

One of the most interesting trips made by me 
in Brazil was to Riberao Preto, which is in the 
very centre of the richest coffee district in the 
world. The route first led over the tracks of 
the Sao Paulo 1 Railway to the town of Jun- 
diahy. This line runs through the hills and 
gradually reaches a lower level. No villages 
of importance are passed until Jundiahy is 
reached, and that is interesting only as a rail- 
road junction point. Here a change was made 
to the Paulista Railway, over which a ride of 
an hour takes the traveller to Campinas, a city 
once very flourishing because the centre of the 
coffee trade. During the past few years this 
town has declined, because the coffee produc- 
tion in this neighbourhood has greatly de- 
creased. The city probably contains twenty- 
five thousand people, and is a typical Brazilian 
town — far more representative than its more 
successful rival of Sao Paulo. There are hun- 



126 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



dreds of acres of coffee trees still producing in 
the Campinas district, but they are not well 
kept, as it seems to be the general intention of 
abandoning it when the present trees cease to 
bear. I visited one plantation in this neighbour- 
hood, the Fazenda da Lapa, and it was very 
interesting, because it was the first one that I 
had examined, but it cannot compare with the 
ones later to be described. The charming hos- 
pitality of these fazenderos is most captivating. 
On the visit to this plantation the owner served 
us a meal of fruit fit for a king's table. It was 
in the early days of January, and we had 
oranges, bananas, figs, mangoes, pineapples, 
strawberries, plums and several varieties of 
grapes, all of them raised on the plantation, 
and most of which we had ourselves assisted in 
picking. 

At Campinas is located the Instituto Agro- 
nomico, which is an experimental institution of 
the state government. Its purpose is to study 
the various enemies which attack vegetation 
and discover means, if possible, for their eradi- 
cation. It also experiments with the raising of 
various kinds of grain, and the cultivation of 
fruits. The work laid out for this institution 
is a good one, for what is needed in Brazil is 



A Progressive State 127 



a practical application of good agricultural 
principles, a study of the soil and a knowledge 
of what it is adapted for. The equipment of 
this institution is good, and the buildings are 
large and commodious. But a great deal of 
money is spent for what might be termed the 
show features, where it could better be ex- 
pended for practical purposes. There is a 
great field, I believe, for the cultivation of 
fruits. In a country such as this, where fruit 
trees grow almost without cultivation, a very 
large percentage of the fruits are imported. 
For instance, at the hotels the fruit served 
would be American or Portuguese apples, and 
Malaga grapes. And yet, right here at this 
institute, I saw grapes finer, in my opinion, than 
those brought over thousands of miles of water. 
With proper cultivation nearly every one of the 
common fruits of the tropical and temperate 
zone could be raised here, and of fine quality. 
Instead, thousands of dollars are sent out of 
the country for the fruits which might be better 
raised at home. 

From Campinas the journey was continued 
over the Mogyana Eailroad, a narrow gauge 
track. The line passes through coffee planta- 
tions for seme distance, and then into unculti- 



128 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



vated lands, where the only industry is the rais- 
ing of stock. A part of the land traversed is 
abandoned agricultural land, and part of it has 
never been under cultivation. The cattle seen 
on these farms are only of fair quality, for not 
much care has been taken in breeding the ani- 
mals up to a high standard. With many bends 
and graceful curves the road follows a stream, 
cuts across valleys and around hills. There is 
no part of the ten hours' journey when hills 
of fair size are not a prominent feature in the 
foreground. A number of towns are passed, 
and a few very narrow gauged railroads run 
off to plantations, which cannot be seen from 
the railroads. The soil is almost the colour of 
dried blood, and this red dirt filters in through 
the windows in great clouds. This blood-red 
dust colours everything it touches with a red- 
dish hue. The clothing is soon tinted with it, 
and even the children's complexions show the 
effects, for Brazilian children, like their cousins 
all over the world, like to play in the dirt. But 
this red soil is good coffee land, and coffee plan- 
tations are seen crowning the summits of the 
hills. At last the train reaches Riberao Preto, 
near which are situated the best and largest cof- 
fee plantations, not only in Brazil but in the 



A Progressive State 129 



world. The town is comparatively modern, for 
this district is newer than Campinas, and it has 
been growing in importance year after year in 
the past two decades. It is now a city of ten 
or fifteen thousand people. 

At the station were waiting carriages from 
the hospitable " Monte Alegre " fazenda, the 
residence of Colonel Francisco Schmidt, who is 
known as the " coffee king." This man came 
to Brazil as a poor emigrant boy a half century 
ago, and hoed coffee trees for other fazenderos, 
and on lands which he now owns. Seated on the 
broad veranda of ' ' Monte Alegre, ' ' one could 
see avenues of coffee trees stretching out over 
the hills, and good coffee lands are always hilly, 
until they were lost in the horizon. Although 
it was not possible to see, yet one knew that 
they continued in the same unbroken rows down 
the other slope. I rode in a carriage with the 
Colonel for hours through a continuous succes- 
sion of coffee trees, during the three days that 
I was his guest, with no end in sight. When 
you consider that there are from two hundred 
and fifty to three hundred trees to each acre, 
you will readily realize that the number of trees 
soon runs into the thousands, then into the tens 
of thousands, and finally into the millions. So 



130 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



do not be surprised when I tell you that this 
coffee king has already growing upon his vari- 
ous fazendas the almost incredible number of 
eight million coffee trees. I did not see all of 
them, but I saw so many that numbers lost their 
meaning, and I could only think in millions. 

Twenty-three million pounds of coffee were 
marketed by this man in one year. This is 
enough to give every man, woman and child in 
the United States and Canada a cup of coffee 
for breakfast for one week. He has twenty rail- 
road stations on his thirty-two different fazen- 
das. He has twenty machines run by water or 
steam power for cleaning coffee, and acres upon 
acres of drying yards, all of which are scenes 
of activity in the harvesting season. Nearly a 
thousand horses are employed in the work of 
the plantations, besides more than that number 
of mules and oxen. There is also a fully- 
equipped sugar mill, which turns out thousands 
of pounds of refined sugar each year. In fact, 
the Colonel told me, as we were seated at the 
great dining table, that would seat forty per- 
sons, and which was spread with the good 
things of life: " Everything on the table, ex- 
cept the flour used in making the bread, was 
raised on this plantation." 



A Progressive State 131 



The Colonel reminded me of the feudal lords 
of old, for the eight thousand people who live 
on his plantations not only depend on him for 
labour, but look up to him and tip their hats 
respectfully whenever they see him. The work 
of taking care of the coffee trees is all let out 
to families at so much a thousand trees per 
year, and a family will take care of five thou- 
sand trees. The price paid is from $25.00 to 
$30.00 per thousand per year for hoeing and 
cleaning the fields, and they are paid in addi- 
tion to this for picking the coffee at established 
rates. Furthermore, they are permitted to 
plant corn and beans in between the coffee rows 
which gives them an extra profit. Day labour- 
ers are paid at the rate of $.90 to $1.00 for each 
day's work. 

Everything about this plantation is con- 
ducted in a systematic manner, and in that is 
the secret of Colonel Schmidt's success. The 
thirty-two farms are all connected with his 
home by telephone, for which more than eighty 
miles of telephone wire have been strung. 
Everything, including plumbing supplies, is 
kept in systematic order and the owner himself 
knows where each article may be found. Ma- 
chinery when not in use is carefully stored 



132 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



under shelter to protect it from rust. A half 
dozen blacksmiths, as many woodworkers, har- 
nessworkers, shoemakers, etc., are kept on the 
plantation, and even a private tailor is em- 
ployed at the house. A dozen or more general 
stores are operated for supplying the wants of 
the employees. With this and much more detail 
this great plantation is run on modern business 
methods, with as perfect a system of bookkeep- 
ing as the average business man employs. 
From these books can be told at a glance the 
exact cost of each plantation for each year, its 
production and the net profit to the owner. 
And, above all, the Colonel is a charming host, 
and finds time to make it interesting for those, 
like myself, who visit him where he is king. 

The " Dumont " fazenda adjoins the one 
just described, and it is the second largest plan- 
tation in Brazil, and perhaps in the world. It 
was formerly owned by the family of Santos- 
Dumont, the aeronaut, but is now under the 
control of an English company. They own a 
private railroad with more than forty miles of 
track, which runs to Riberao Preto. The track 
is only twenty-six inches wide, and the cars are 
rather narrow with room for only one person 
on each side of the aisle. A special train, with 



A Progressive State 133 



the best car the road possesses, drawn by a 
Baldwin engine, was sent for ns and we were 
taken over the coffee plantation, which pos- 
sesses nearly five million trees. It was also 
very interesting to travel over the thousands 
of acres owned by them, in and through the 
rows of coffee trees which almost brushed up 
against the car in places, in this comfortable, 
if diminutive coach, and see the methods of cul- 
ture and care of the coffee, which is slightly 
different than that pursued on the other. It 
was also interesting to find an up-to-date Amer- 
ican in charge of the vast interests of this Eng- 
lish company, and to know that one of our own 
nationality is making good in the coffee-raising 
industry as well as in other lines. This com- 
pany markets all its own coffee through an aux- 
iliary company in England in packages under 
its own labels. The " Dumont " fazenda is also 
conducting an experiment in rubber culture, 
and now has forty thousand trees growing, 
some of which are almost ready to tap. If rub- 
ber continues to advance, as it has in the past 
year, this part of their plantation may prove 
more profitable than the growing of coffee. 



CHAPTER VII 



AN AMERICAN COLONY UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Have you ever heard of the Villa Americana 
in Brazil? 

Quite likely you have not, for I had never 
heard of it myself until my visit to that inter- 
esting country brought it to my notice. We 
frequently hear of German villages, Hungarian 
settlements and Italian colonies, but a settle- 
ment of North Americans on the other side of 
the equator is something new. And yet the col- 
ony is not new, for it was established more than 
a generation ago ; children have grown up and 
married, who still call themselves North Amer- 
icans, and who have never set foot on soil over 
which waves the stars and stripes. In travel- 
ling over Brazil I frequently met with Ameri- 
can young men and women who informed me 
that they came from the Villa Americana. So 
often did that name reach my ears that I de- 
cided to visit this place, and see for myself 
what kind of a settlement it was, and how 'these 

134 



An American Colony 135 



voluntarily expatriated fellow countrymen lived 
in this land so different from our own. It is a 
journey of about two hours from Campinas on 
the Paulista Railway. 

But first let me tell you the history of this 
colony. At the close of the civil war many 
Southern families, whose plantations had been 
devastated by the northern armies, felt that 
they could not live again under the old flag. 
Proud spirited and unconquered, these brave 
southern veterans who had marched with Stone- 
wall Jackson, and the Lees, and Johnsons, de- 
cided that they would leave the land that had 
given them birth and seek fortunes anew in a 
new land, and amidst new surroundings. Brazil 
appealed to the leaders in this movement be- 
cause the plantation system was similar to that 
under which they had been raised, and slavery 
was legal in that land, which was still an em- 
pire. A few men went as an advance guard and 
selected a site about one hundred miles north- 
west of the city of Sao Paulo. A favourable re- 
port was made to those still back in the States, 
and it was not long until several hundred fam- 
ilies had left their Southern homes, and were 
making new homes underneath the Southern 
Cross. In all it is estimated that at least five 



136 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



hundred American families located in that sec- 
tion of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, between 
the years 1865 and 1870. They came from 
Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and per- 
haps one or two other of the seceding states. 

As I stepped off the rapido, as the express 
train is called down there, the name Villa Amer- 
icana, which means American Village, on the 
neat little station struck a sympathetic chord 
in my heart. It seemed good also to see a num- 
ber of tall, slender men, typical Southern types, 
such as one might see at almost any station in 
Tennessee or Georgia, standing on the plat- 
form awaiting the incoming train. One member 
of the colony, who was in the government em- 
ploy, was with me and performed the introduc- 
tions necessary. " How do you do," " Glad to 
see you," " Come around and see me," and 
similar cordial expressions came from every 
one. And the best of it is that they were sin- 
cere, and not the empty, meaningless expres- 
sions so often heard. It was a pleasure to ac- 
cept several of these invitations, as many as my 
limited time allowed. 

On entering the home of perhaps the most 
prosperous member of this colony I felt like 
standing at " attention," and giving a salute 



An American Colony 137 



when I saw the silk starred and striped banner 
of Uncle Sam fastened np on the wall of the 
" best room.'' The house itself, with its large 
hall, roomy apartments and broad veranda sur- 
rounding the house, looked like one of the plan- 
tation houses so common in the South. This 
man had a large family of children, all of whom, 
with one exception, had been educated in the 
schools of the United States, and two boys were 
at that time in one of our colleges. About the 
whole house was an American atmosphere that 
warmed the very heart's blood in a traveller so 
far away from home. And so it was in the other 
houses I visited; in every one was the same 
cordiality, the same pleasure at seeing some one 
from the " States," and the same loyalty to 
everything American. In some of the younger 
members one could detect a slight accent in 
speaking English, which is always noticeable 
when children learn a Latin tongue in their 
babyhood. The older ones said that these 
young people speak the Portuguese with a sim- 
ilar foreign accent. The young ladies of the 
American colony, and there are a number of 
them, were typical American girls, bright, 
cheery and free as their sisters are at home, 
and so different from the Brazilian young 



138 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



women among whom they live, and who are 
so hampered by the customs and traditions of 
the race. We took a " trolley " ride over the 
settlement, bnt it is rather different from the 
American trolley, for it is nothing more than 
an old-fashioned buckboard. 

Many of the original members of the colony 
became dissatisfied, and returned to their 
former homes. There are, however, four or five 
hundred Americans still living in this colony, 
or within a radius of a few miles. A few have 
moved to other parts of Brazil, and others have 
intermarried with Brazilians; but, in general, 
they have remained true to their Americanism. 
Some of the original families purchased slaves 
and worked their plantations in that way, until 
that institution was abolished in 1888. A few 
have prospered very much, but many others 
have done just fairly well. One of the wealth- 
iest men made his little fortune out of water- 
melons. Others have sugar plantations and 
make brandy, or raise coffee; and still others 
do general farming, similar to what they were 
accustomed in the Southern States. A Protes- 
tant church, called the Union Church, adorns 
one hill, and a school-house in a conspicuous 
building is in another part of the village. 



An American Colony 139 



Some one had told me that the war was a 
tabooed subject; that the few older members 
still left were fighting the battles over. When 
I met the oldest member of the colony, who had 
left the United States in 1865, the impulse came 
to test this subject. I mentioned the fact that 
my own father had served in the Union army 
and fought for his country on that side. This 
old man, who was past the allotted three score 
and ten, and who had fought with that intrepid 
warrior, Stonewall Jackson, then told me the 
whole history of the colony, and the causes that 
led to its establishment. " It was a mistake," 
he said, " but we did not realize it then, and 
afterwards it was too late to sacrifice what we 
had here and move back. We still love the old 
flag." When I left, he gave me the Brazilian 
embrace as a special mark of favour; and I 
verily believe that I left a good friend in this 
old man who had the traits that we all love in 
the Southern gentleman. 

When Senator Root, then Secretary of State, 
visited Brazil four years ago, a new station was 
named Elihu Root in his honour on the Paulista 
Railway, and this name stands out conspicu- 
ously on every time-table of that line. The 
special train conveying him passed through the 



140 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



Villa Americana, and lie was asked to stop 
and address the Americans. When the train 
stopped many of the older residents met him 
with tears in their eyes; and, I was told, the 
eyes of the distinguished American were not 
dry; and he has said that it was the most pa- 
thetic incident in his trip. He was asked 
whether it would be better for the colony to 
remain in Brazil or return to the United States. 
" Stay where you are," he said, " and be good 
Brazilians. You will find the States so changed 
that they would no longer seem like home. ' ' 

The Secretary was right. A few months be- 
fore my own visit one of the prosperous mem- 
bers of the colony went, with his family, to his 
old home in Texas, with the intention of remain- 
ing there. He left his property in the hands of 
an agent for sale. A few weeks after his ar- 
rival in Texas he cabled to his agent not to sell 
the property, as he was coming back. In a few 
months he and his family returned to the Villa, 
giving as his reason that the old neighbourhood 
had changed so much that it did not seem so 
much like home as Brazil. 

The members of this colony are now Brazil- 
ian subjects, the younger ones because of their 
birth in that land, and the older ones by virtue 



An American Colony 141 



of a general proclamation. Few of them actu- 
ally take any part in the politics of the land. 
All of them, of course, speak the Portuguese 
language, but use the English in their homes. 
They are still Americans at heart. My visit to 
this little American settlement in the very heart 
of the great Eepublic of Brazil will always re- 
main a pleasant memory of a most delightful 
trip. 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE TEMPERATE ZONE 

Brazil is not all within the tropics. The 
Tropic of Capricorn passes through the suburbs 
of the city of Sao Paulo. South of this line is 
the temperate zone, within which is included the 
states of Santa Catharine and Rio Grande do 
Sul, almost the entire state of Parana, and a 
part of the states of Sao Paulo and Matto 
Grosso. Leaving Sao Paulo, a ride of two 
hours over a unique railroad carries the travel- 
ler to the busiest port in Brazil. The ride down 
the Serro is delightful on a clear day. The 
train is divided into small sections, each with 
its own powerful little engine, which are at- 
tached to a cable. One section is always taken 
up while another is going down in order to bal- 
ance the load. Through tunnels, over tressels 
and along shelves cut out of the solid rock, the 
train gradually descends until the coast level is 
reached, and a short ride carries the traveller 
into the splendid station at Santos. 

142 



The Temperate Zone 143 



The city of Santos is not alone one of the 
most important ports of Brazil, but of the world 
as well, because of the enormous quantity of 
coffee shipped from it. At one time it was 
noted in a different way. It was then regarded 
as one of the most unhealthy cities in the Amer- 
icas. I talked with a man who had lived there 
for twenty-five years, and he told me that in 
times of pestilence the dead bodies would be 
taken out to the cemetery by the score each day. 
People who went there hardly dared to breathe, 
so fearful were they of contagion. The Brazil- 
ian government deserves great credit for the 
changes that have been wrought in Santos, for 
the death rate is no greater than in the average 
coast city, as complete sanitation has been ef- 
fected, and a good water supply brought in. 

The name of Santos is an abbreviation of the 
original name Todos os Santos (All the Saints), 
for it was on All Saints ' Day that the site was 
discovered by Braz Cubras, in 1543. It was 
plundered by the English Vice-Admiral Cook 
in 1651, under orders from Admiral Thomas 
Cavendish. Because of its admirable bay 
Santos early became an important port. It is 
situated on a point of land which becomes an 
island in the rainy season. It looks quite pic- 



144 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



turesque as one sails up the channel to the 
docks, with the tropical vegetation and the sur- 
rounding hills which slope almost to the water's 
edge. 

It is the only harbour along the Atlantic coast 
where vessels can unload without resort to 
lighters. A very extensive system of docks has 
been constructed here, which will be two and 
one-half miles in length when finished. Several 
dozen vessels will then be able to lay at the 
wharf at the same time, as frequently happens 
in the busy season. More than one thousand 
boats call here each year. The city is not espe- 
cially interesting, as there is nothing to dis- 
tinguish it from other Brazilian cities. The 
main interest lies along the docks. And, by the 
way, the Docas de Santos Company have a con- 
tract that is worth a fortune. This company 
constructed the docks, and are given a conces- 
sion which is bringing in millions of dollars in 
profit. 

In the coffee season the docks, the streets of 
the shipping quarter and the warehouses have 
a busy appearance. The streets are almost ren- 
dered impassable by the wagons loaded with 
bags of coffee. Dozens of car ig adores hurry 
back and forth between the wagons and ware- 



The Temperate Zone 145 



houses, or between warehouses and boats, with 
two or three bags of coffee on their shoulders. 
Women dart here and there among the wagons, 
and pick, or scrape up, the berries which have 
been spilled upon the ground during the loading 
and unloading; and they sometimes realize a 
fair sum for a day's work. In the warehouses 
the coffee is emptied out in immense piles, 
sorted and resacked in bags of uniform weight, 
and then stacked up in piles which number thou- 
sands of bags. From these docks the coffee is 
sent out to Europe and America, and from 
there distributed to all parts of the civilized 
world. 

The through steamers to Argentina and Uru- 
guay do not stop at any Brazilian ports south 
of Santos, so that it is necessary to take the 
national boats. It is a law of the country that 
coast steamers must fly the Brazilian flag. 
There are two lines that make the various stops, 
of which the Costeira Line of Lage Brothers is 
probably the best, as they have English cap- 
tains. 

After leaving Santos the tropical plants and 
palms grow less luxuriantly, and the vegetation 
more closely resembles our Gulf States. The 
first port at which the boat stops is Paranagua, 



146 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the only harbour, and the only port of any im- 
portance on the coast of the state of Parana, a 
state about the size of Pennsylvania. There is 
a strip of lowland along the coast that is sub- 
tropical, being low, flat and marshy. On these 
marsh lands rice has been very successfully 
cultivated during the past few years. West of 
the coast range of mountains the climate is 
more temperate, and there are some fine pla- 
teaus that extend as far as the Parana Eiver 
on the western boundary. 

Paranagua is a thriving town of ten thousand 
or more, and has one of the finest harbours on 
the coast. From this port a railway has been 
built to the capital, Curytiba, and Ponta Grossa, 
the second largest town in the state, a distance 
of nearly two hundred miles. This line is a 
triumph of engineering, for it climbs over the 
Serro da Mar without resorting to the aid of 
cogs or cables. A ride over it affords some 
magnificent views in the richness and variety 
of views to be seen as the train runs around 
bends, and bursts forth from the many tunnels 
along the line. This route is said to have been 
the scene of many tragic deaths during the revo- 
lution of 1893-4, when revolutionists were car- 
ried by train to the highest points along the 



The Temperate Zone 147 



line, and then brutally hurled into the depths 
below. 

It is a journey of about four hours to Cury- 
tiba, which is a pretty little city of half a hun- 
dred thousand people, more or less. It is one 
of the largest cities south of Sao Paulo, and is 
situated at an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea 
level, thus giving it a pleasant and equable tem- 
perature. The city is comparatively modern 
with the usual public buildings of a capital, 
plazas filled with shrubbery and flowers, and a 
Botanical Garden of which the people are very 
proud. 

Parana is a rich state in natural resources. 
It was formerly united with Sao Paulo as one 
province, and the original inhabitants have 
many of the same qualities as the Paulistas. 
Many foreign colonies have been established by 
state aid, and some of them have prospered. 
Italians, Poles and Germans constitute the col- 
onists, of whom the Poles are probably the most 
numerous. There are large areas of forests, 
of which a tree known as the Parana pine is the 
most common, as well as most useful. This 
tree grows to a lofty and imposing height, with 
a trunk several feet thick. It is used much the 
same as our own pine, and a great deal of it is 



148 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



exported to tlie other Brazilian states, as well 
as to Argentina and Uruguay. 

The most valuable article of commerce at the 
present time is the Ilex Paraguay ensis, from 
which the herb mate, or Paraguay tea, is made. 
Brazil is a great producer of this tea as well 
as coffee. From this mate is brewed a beverage 
that is used by twenty million or more of South 
Americans, for one will see its disciples in 
Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argen- 
tina, and probably other countries as well. The 
early Jesuit missionaries were the first discov- 
erers of the virtue of this plant, when they 
found the Indians chewed it, and by doing so 
were able to undergo great hardships with very 
little solid food. These fathers experimented 
with the shrub, or rather tree, and instructed 
the Indians in its cultivation. At a later time 
immense forests were discovered, and it is from 
them that the principal crop is now obtained. 

The state of Parana produces more of this 
preparation than any other country, and sev- 
eral million dollars' worth of it are shipped 
each year to the other states and foreign coun- 
tries. Its production has been the source of 
wealth to not a few in that state, for the yer- 
bales, as the plantations are called, have proven 



The Temperate Zone 149 



very profitable. It is made from the leaves of 
a tree that is generally about the size of an 
orange tree, hut will sometimes grow to a height 
of twenty-five feet, and with a trunk two, and 
even three feet, in circumference. One tree will 
oftentimes yield ninety pounds of the prepared 
herb. As the plantations are generally remote, 
the gatherers go together in their long trips 
across country. The season begins in Decem- 
ber, and lasts for a number of months. Firing, 
and in some places, the picking, drying and 
packing were all formerly done on the grounds, 
but now machinery has been installed for the 
different processes of preparing it for the mar- 
ket. By the old process the mate gatherers 
cleared off a space of ground, and then beat it 
down very hard. The freshly cut stems and 
leaves were first placed in the centre and a fire 
built around it ; then placed on poles with a fire 
underneath. Drying the leaves two or three 
days reduced them to a dry powder, and they 
were then packed in bags made ready to be 
taken back to the markets. Large copper pans 
placed over a slow fire now take the place of 
this primitive process. 

A number of scientists claim high medicinal 
qualities for the beverage. They say that it has 



150 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



more stimulating and tonic effects than the 
common tea, with absolutely none of the bad 
or unpleasant effects. Instead of keeping the 
user awake, for instance, it is claimed that the 
user is never troubled with insomnia. It can 
be made and used the same as any tea, but it 
is commonly taken from the cuya, and drawn 
up through the bombilla. The cuya is a small 
bowl or gourd, with a little opening through 
which the mate is put in. Hot water is then 
poured over, and a little sugar added. The 
bombilla is a small pipe, with a strainer on the 
end, through which the beverage is sipped. 
Some of these cuyas and bombillas are very 
elaborate and made of pure silver. Hot water 
and another lump of sugar must be added every 
few minutes to keep it palatable. It is a very 
common sight to see the natives sitting outside 
their homes sipping this favourite drink of 
theirs, its use oftentimes supplanting the 
stronger intoxicants. Some hotels and restau- 
rants serve it, and many foreigners become as 
fond of mate as those who were born in the 
country, and its use is being introduced in a 
small way in Europe. 

As the vessel proceeds farther south it stops 
at Florianapolis, capital of the state of Santa 



The Temperate Zone 151 



Catharina. The coast of this state is, perhaps, 
the most beautiful of all the Brazilian states, 
excepting that of Kio de Janeiro. The mari- 
time range rises very abruptly to a great 
height, with only a very narrow strip between 
it and the sea. There are several good har- 
bours. Florianapolis lies on an island, about 
five miles from the mainland which the city 
faces. It makes a beautiful picture. Where 
Rio is grand, there is a softness about this scene 
that also appeals to the poetic side of nature. 
Back of the city rises the background of hills, 
green with semi-tropical verdure, which reach 
a height of three thousand feet. The entire 
island is almost a garden of beauty with its 
variegated hues of shrubs and flowers, and the 
driveways which are overhung with trees and 
vines. It is not as large as Curytiba, but is 
more important in a commercial sense than 
that neighbouring capital, because it is a ship- 
ping port at which several vessels call each 
week. 

The state of Santa Catharina is somewhat 
similar to Parana, although not so large. The 
plateaus are devoted to stock raising, of which 
horses and mules form a large part. The ma- 
jority of the small but tough and wiry mules 



152 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



used in the states farther north corne from this 
state. Some tobacco, sugar and dairy products 
are also exported, and fruit is now being cul- 
tivated on a much larger scale than formerly. 
A number of German colonies are found in this 
state, and some of them are so pronouncedly 
Teutonic that the Portuguese tongue is scarcely 
understood. This shows not only in the archi- 
tecture of these towns, but also in the dress 
and manners of the inhabitants, although the 
greater part of the German element has lived 
here for a long time. Joinville, Blumenau and 
Brusque are three of these distinctly German 
settlements. It is a question whether they have 
advanced faster than the native Brazilians. At 
least it is certain that they have not kept pace 
with the Fatherland, probably because there 
has been no continued influx of new blood into 
the settlements. 

Leaving Florianapolis the vessel skirts along 
the shores of Santa Catharina, and for a long 
distance along the low coast of the state of Bio 
Grande do Sul, until the port of the same name, 
the most southerly port of the republic, is 
reached. The coast line of this state is peculiar 
in that it consists of lakes or lagoons, which are 
separated from the sea by comparatively nar- 



The Temperate Zone 153 



row strips of land. The principal lake, called 
Lagoa dos Patos (Ducks Lake), is one hundred 
and fifty miles long and from twenty to thirty 
miles wide, and has only one narrow channel 
connecting it with the ocean, that at Rio Grande 
do Sul, at its southerly extremity. The lake 
is not very deep, but a twelve foot channel has 
been dredged to Pelotas, and a ten foot channel 
has been completed almost to Porto Alegre. 
At the entrance there are sandbars which make 
it impossible for deep draught vessels to enter, 
but the coasting boats proceed up to the further- 
most extremity, at which is located the largest 
city of the state, Porto Alegre, the " merry 
port." 

The government is now engaged in the work 
of dredging a channel to a depth of ten meters 
(thirty- two and eight-tenths feet) over this bar 
which, with the port works planned, will give 
Rio Grande do Sul one of the best harbours on 
the Brazilian coast, and will probably make it 
the chief city south of Sao Paulo. The cost of 
this improvement will be about $10,000,000 in 
gold, for which a special tax of two per cent, 
on all goods coming into the state through this 
channel has been levied. The port works will 
cost almost an equal sum, and a concession has 



154 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



been granted to a company which agrees to 
make this improvement. The plan adopted is 
to construct two parallel dikes, or jetties, from 
the mouth of the river into the new harbour, 
and there construct basins which will be large 
enough to manoeuvre the largest vessels afloat. 
Rubble stones and immense cement blocks will 
be used for this work, and it is estimated that 
at least four million tons of this material will 
be required. At least ten million cubic yards 
will have to be dredged for the channel and 
basins. The sand and clay brought up by the 
dredges will be deposited inside the revetments 
in order to fill up the low land. This improve- 
ment was formally begun December 11th, 1907, 
and the preliminary work has been done, so that 
the main part of the undertaking is now pro- 
gressing very satisfactorily. An American en- 
gineer is in charge of the work, but the contract 
is held by a French company. It is expected 
that this much needed improvement, which has 
been under consideration for a quarter of a 
century, will be completed in 1913. This will 
revolutionize this port and make Rio Grande 
do Sul a port of call for European and Amer- 
ican steamers. It will not only give an easy 
outlet to Southern Brazil, but a much shorter 



The Temperate Zone 155 



one for Northern Uruguay and a part of Argen- 
tina. 

Rio Grande do Sul of to-day is a thrifty little 
city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants, with 
pretty parks and narrow streets, but nothing 
outside of its shipping to attract much attention 
to itself. There are schools, colleges and 
churches, charitable institutions and a library, 
all of which are excellent in themselves. It is 
about eight hundred miles from Rio harbour. 
A decade hence it will be a much more impor- 
tant and a much larger city than at present. 
A few miles farther up the lake is the larger 
town of Pelotas, which is the centre of the beef 
curing establishments, of which there are so 
many along this lake. In addition to the beef 
consumed locally these xarqueados prepare and 
export more than $6,000,000 worth of this dried 
and salted meat annually. 

The southern part of Rio Grande do Sul is 
composed of prairie lands, called campos, which 
comprise perhaps two-thirds of the area of this 
state, which is twice as large as the state . of 
New York. These plains are covered with pas- 
ture, and contain only a little timber along the 
streams. These great campos are divided up 
into estancias or fazendas, which are frequently 



156 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



many thousands of acres in extent. Natural 
boundaries, such as streams and ridges, have 
generally been chosen, which not only serve as 
natural fences, but settle absolutely all ques- 
tions of ownership. The house of the estanciero 
is generally situated on an elevation which over- 
looks the estate, and around it are grouped the 
huts of the labourers. There is, as a rule, no 
cultivation of the soil except to supply the 
wants of those dwelling on the estate. The 
entire attention is devoted to the raising of 
cattle, of which there are more than four million 
in the state. A few raise mules to supply the 
cities. The Rio Grandense, as the inhabitant is 
called, is, first of all, a ranchman. 

In the spring, men, called the tropeiros, visit 
all the estancias, and bargain for the cattle at 
so much a head for cash. They are then formed 
into great herds and driven overland to the 
xarqueados, which is the name given to the kill- 
ing establishments of Brazil. In these estab- 
lishments the salted and dried beef is prepared, 
which forms the principal meat supply of cen- 
tral and northern Brazil, where few cattle are 
raised. 

The process of preparing this meat is quite 
interesting, for it is so much different from the 



The Temperate Zone 157 



methods of preparing and preserving beef in 
our own country. Pelotas is the greatest cen- 
tre of this industry, but thousands of head of 
cattle are also killed at Bage, Quarahim, San 
Gabriel and other towns. The work of killing 
and curing is done in the season from November 
to May, which are the summer months. After 
an animal has been killed the carcass is taken 
to a long and broad dissecting shed, where it 
is immediately set upon by a man and boys 
armed with long knives. In less than ten min- 
utes, as a rule, the hide has been removed, and 
all the meat cut in strips and removed from 
the bones. These strips of meat are made as 
large as possible. After being cut up the strips 
are hung up for a time on poles to cool, but no 
artificial cooling process is used. They are then 
immersed in immense tanks filled with strong 
salt brine. Later, they are placed in a tank 
filled with a still stronger brine, and, finally, 
into a third solution of great strength. 

After being sufficiently soaked in this strong 
brine, the strips of meat are piled up with alter- 
nate layers of salt. From these piles the meat 
is laid out on rows of railings, and thoroughly 
dried in the sun, which gives it the final process 
of curing and seasoning. This meat then be- 



158 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



comes the xarque, or jerked beef, which forms 
a most important article of food in Brazil, and 
can be seen for sale in the meat markets all 
over the country. It is bound in bales of about 
two hundred pounds, covered with sacking and 
shipped to the markets. To use it the meat 
must first be soaked for a time in water to re- 
move the excess of the salt preservative, and 
then it is boiled or roasted, making a nutritive 
diet of which the people are very fond. The 
tongues are prepared in the same way, and 
shipped to the northern markets. The hides 
are salted to preserve them, the bones, horns 
and hoofs are boiled to remove all the tallow 
and glue, and all of these products are shipped 
to Europe. The process as followed to this day 
is a wasteful one. The same care and economy 
of manufacture followed in the United States 
would yield far greater profits to the manufac- 
turers. A half million or more of cattle are 
slaughtered and cured in this way, in the state 
of Bio Grande do Sul each year, and it could 
be developed to far greater proportions under 
proper management. It will not be, however, 
until foreign capital develops the industry, as 
it has in Argentina. 

At the northern end of the lagoon is the prin- 



The Temperate Zone 159 



cipal city of Southern Brazil, Porto Alegre. It 
is a neat and prosperous city, in which nearly 
all the foreign banks and business houses doing 
business in Brazil have branches. The view 
in travelling up the lagoon is not especially 
attractive, for it consists mostly of flat fields 
along which are miles of racks, on which the 
jerked beef is laid out to dry. The city itself 
is built on a promontory which juts out into 
the river. The commercial prosperity of this 
city began with the colonizing of a lot of Ger- 
mans soon after the revolution of the middle 
of the last century in Germany. The Teutonic 
element is very marked in Porto Alegre, as well 
as in other cities of the state, such as Novo 
Friburgo and Sao Leopoldo, which are still 
more distinctly German. There is a large mu- 
nicipal theatre, city hall, cathedral and other 
public buildings. In fact, commercially as well 
as in every other way, Porto Alegre is the lead- 
ing city south of Sao Paulo. 

Eio Grande do Sul has a population of about 
a million and a quarter, thus making it fifth in 
population in the republic. Its climate is tem- 
perate, and the winter season sometimes be- 
comes quite cool. Snow occasionally falls, and, 
when the cold winds blow in from the west, the 



160 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



still waters freeze over. It resembles very 
much the plains of Uruguay, on which also 
immense herds of cattle feed. A number of 
minerals are found, and it contains about the 
only profitable coal mines that have yet been 
discovered in Brazil. Near Porto Alegre are 
some coal mines that have been worked for 
years; but they are not worked near to their 
full capacity, because the freight rates are so 
high that the coal cannot be shipped profitably 
to the other Brazilian states. A little gold is 
mined as well as some silver, lead and copper. 
A number of precious stones such as amethysts, 
topaz, tourmalines, aquamarines and moon- 
stones are found in certain sections. 

Eio Grande do Sul has had a chequered 
career almost ever since its settlement. For a 
long time its ownership was contested between 
Spaniards and Portuguese, although at an ear- 
lier time, when the capitancias were formed, no 
one considered it worth the taking. Many of 
the original settlers came from the Azores, and 
some of the inhabitants are still glad to call 
themselves Azoreans. It was not until 1822 
that it was definitely united with the rest of 
Brazil, but at that time it was joined to the 
empire as a separate province. The independ- 



The Temperate Zone 161 



ent and martial spirit, engendered by the many 
wars, has made the state very independent, and 
this has cansed it to be turbulent. Quite a good 
deal of railway construction has been done in 
the past decade, and this has added to the pros- 
perity of the country by opening up new dis- 
tricts to trade and commerce. The construction 
of railways is comparatively easy. The Uru- 
guay Eiver on the western boundary furnishes 
good communication with Uruguayan and Ar- 
gentinian ports, and regular steamship service 
is maintained on it. There are also some rivers 
emptying into the lake, which are navigable for 
small craft. 

The state of Matto Grosso, (the dense for- 
est) is an empire in itself, for it contains a 
greater area than the original thirteen colonies. 
It is one-sixth as large as the United States. 
It is not only an undeveloped, but practically 
an unexplored country, whose resources are 
only half understood. Much of it is as wild as 
it was when Sebastian Cabot made his way up 
the Paraguay Eiver early in the sixteenth cen- 
tury. All of its supplies are conveyed up the 
waterways of the La Plata system, and it takes 
a month to reach Cuyaba, the capital, from Pio 
de Janeiro. It has a population not exceeding 



162 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



one person to each four square miles of terri- 
tory, so that there are few towns. Cuyaba has 
perhaps twenty thousand souls, and has long 
ago passed the century mark of its existence. 
It is said to be quite an attractive little city. 

It is a five days' ride from Eio to Buenos 
Ayres. From there it is a journey of about 
six days up the Parana and Paraguay Rivers 
to Ascuncion, the capital of the Republic of 
Paraguay. A two days' ride above Ascuncion 
carries one within the borders of Matto Grosso. 
The Paraguay River, which, up to this point, 
has been wide, gradually narrows. The scen- 
ery becomes wilder, and the river runs between 
mountains, at the base of which grow giant 
palms and tree-like ferns. Vines and creepers 
bind together the tall trees, which stand in a 
mass of impenetrable vegetation. The only 
break in this is an occasional farmhouse along 
the bank. Many kinds of wild birds and some 
wild animals are seen, alligators abound in the 
water and fish are pentiful. The jaguar is not 
uncommon. It is only after several changes of 
steamers, and a journey of twenty-seven hun- 
dred miles by river boats, that one at last 
reaches the capital of this monstrous province. 
The Paraguay River is well adapted to naviga- 



The Temperate Zone 163 



tion. As far as Ascuncion it lias a depth of at 
least twenty feet. For several hundred miles 
above this city the depth never goes below 
twelve feet. There are few islands and it is 
more easy of navigation than the Parana, which 
is so much obstructed by shoals and rapids. 
This fortunate natural outlet will render a 
cheap and easy transportation for the produce 
of this state when developed. The northern 
part of this state drains into the Amazon, and 
a number of the rivers are navigable almost to 
the centre of the state. 



CHAPTER IX 



THE AMAZON 

What a prospect of unlimited forest greets 
the visitor to the Amazon. What a land of 
dreams and mysteries is unfolded. Three or 
four hundred miles to the south, and as great 
a distance to the north, stretches an unbroken 
forest and jungle, until one reaches the open 
plateaus of Matto Grosso, on one side, or the 
boundaries of Venezuela and the Guianas, on 
the other. To the west there are trees and 
trees, set close together, and mingling their 
boughs with the intertwining vines into a vege- 
table infinity. Much of it is still an unknown 
land, untrodden by the foot of white man. The 
tangle has been threaded at different places by 
exploring expeditions and the rubber gatherers, 
but to the world it is still an unconversant wil- 
derness. A traveller finds vegetation of one 
kind on one river, and the same form on another 
stream a hundred miles away. He then infers 
that all the intervening territory has the same 

164 



The Amazon 



165 



character, and so reports it. He may be right ; 
and again he may be mistaken. 

In the regions between ten degrees on either 
side of the equator lies the major part of this 
primeval forest. Forest and rivers alike de- 
pend on the rain. The moist trade winds, which 
blow westward from the Atlantic, meet the cold 
blasts from the lofty, snow-capped Andes, and 
precipitation follows. The forests protect the 
rivers by preventing evaporation, and the riv- 
ers nurse the trees by increasing the moisture 
in soil and air. Thus this region, which has 
the greatest rainfall in the world, has produced 
the mightiest river and the largest stretch of 
forest on the globe. 

Like a huge wall rise the tall trees on every 
hand. A photograph of a thousand feet of the 
bank at one place would answer for the same 
amount of bank at any other place, except that 
the palms might predominate in some places 
more than at others. There are no solitary 
tree trunks; neither are there groups of trees 
of the same species. It would scarcely be 
possible to find a half-dozen trees of the 
same kind to the acre. Penetrate this for- 
est and you have the feeling of having en- 
tered a maze or a web. There are plants and 



166 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



trunks but no leaves near the ground. It is the 
vines that cause one to feel that he has been 
entrapped. Vines are here, there and every- 
where. The great tree trunks are wreathed 
with them, and the branches above are woven 
together with them into a labyrinth of leaves 
and stems. They are not little puny stems, 
such as may be found in our northern woods, 
but many of them are giants with woody fibre, 
almost like that of the tree trunks themselves. 
They ascend one tree and stretch across a half 
a dozen others; and then may drop down to 
the ground again. They are twisted, knotted 
and looped into almost every conceivable shape. 
Some have smooth stems and others are cov- 
ered with spines ; some are round or square, 
and others are gathered together into bundles. 

Follow up the vines for fifty feet and you 
meet with the parasites in countless variety. 
They are grouped, massed and interwoven; 
they cling to the trees wherever there is a 
chance, and feed on the moist air. There are 
hundreds of cord-like air-roots which dangle in 
the air, and others send a branch down to 
mother earth for sustenance. Delicate orchids 
bloom among the other plants on the branches. 
Many trees depend more on the air than soil 



i 



The Amazon 



167 



for sustenance. Cut a tree, and it will prob- 
ably remain green and throw off new branches. 
Then further up one will see the green roof 
composed of the matted leaves and vines, which 
almost exclude the light from the ground below. 
Some of the largest trees spread over the others 
a wide, thick roof of verdure, like a vast um- 
brella. The mighty columnar stems, which bear 
aloft this solid roof of lofty green, would make 
the proudest of earth's beings feel awed and 
humbled. The visitor to these forests feels his 
own insignificance. It is almost impossible to 
keep in a straight line, for in some places the 
thickets are too dense to be passable. You feel 
your loneliness. At sea or on the desert one 
has a definite horizon, a fixed boundary. Here 
you are absolutely separated from the world. 
The thicket is so compact that oftentimes it is 
impossible to see more than a score of feet. 
An army of men could not find you, and, unless 
an experienced woodman, it would be almost 
impossible to find the way by yourself. One 
can only tramp along hour after hour, cutting 
the narrow path as well as possible, but seeing 
only an interminable stretch of unbroken forest 
ahead as far as the eye can penetrate. 

The jaguar, called by the natives onca, as 



168 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



well as several other species of these cat-like 
animals, are encountered in these forests. The 
commonest variety is almost as large as the 
Asiatic tiger and is sometimes almost as dan- 
gerous. The tapir is the largest animal found 
in South America, and it frequents these Ama- 
zonian jungles. It is, however, a sluggish 
animal, something like a large hog,, but a dan- 
gerous fighter when cornered. Monkeys 
abound, and their strange human-like faces may 
be seen gazing down upon the unwelcome in- 
truders from the lofty branches above. The 
natives are very fond of certain species, which 
they esteem a great delicacy. Small red deer 
are also found, but they are not so palatable as 
our northern species. The paca is a rodent 
about two feet long, and is considered a choice 
delicacy. They look very much like a rat except 
that they are spotted and tailless. The sloth 
is one of nature's curiosities which seems to 
have been left over from a prehistoric age. It 
is not only peculiar in looks, with its little round 
bullet-like head, but is as peculiar in its habits. 
It always hangs upside down on a limb, and 
lives all its days in a sort of dead calm between 
eating and sleeping. It is likely to fall asleep 
between steps in moving from one place to 



The Amazon 



169 



another. After taking a few steps the sloth 
will probably fall in almost a state of exhaus- 
tion. Its utmost speed would probably be 
fifteen or twenty feet in an hour on the ground. 
Like some kinds of insects, they are distasteful 
to other animals, and carnivorous beasts will 
eat them only as a last resort. They are slug- 
gish and very hard to kill, for their circulation 
seems to be as sluggish as their movements. 
The ant-bear is another strange animal occa- 
sionally encountered, and is very valuable, for 
it lives entirely on those pestering insects. The 
peccary, armadillo, capivara and tatou are 
other animals peculiar to these forests. Liz- 
ards are very numerous. In size they vary 
from the little house lizards, which dart out 
from dark corners, to the big fat ones two feet 
long which the natives prize very highly. 

In the number and variety of fishes the 
Amazon is especially prolific. Agassiz says: 
" The Amazon nourishes about twice as many 
species as the Mediterranean, and a more con- 
siderable number than the Atlantic Ocean from 
one pole to the other. All the rivers of Europe 
combined, from the Tagus to the Volga, do not 
feed more than one hundred and fifty species 
of fresh water fish, and yet in one little lake 



170 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



in the neighbourhood of Manaos we have dis- 
covered more than two hundred species, the 
greater part of which have not yet been ob- 
served elsewhere." The largest is the river 
cow, or manatee, which is really a mammal, 
although it never leaves the water. This fish, 
or animal, oftentimes obtains a length of fifteen 
feet, and the meat is said to taste very much 
like coarse pork. The most valuable fish from 
a food standpoint is the pirarucu, which often 
grows to seven feet in length, and weighs as 
much as two hundred and twenty pounds. It 
has an elongated snout covered with bony 
plates or scales, the body being cylindrical. It 
is generally caught with a harpoon in clear 
water. The salted and dried meat brings a 
good price, and is sold everywhere along the 
Amazon, making one of the principal articles 
of food. The piranha is a salmon-like fish, 
which is rather feared for it has a habit of 
biting pieces of flesh from the limbs of bathers. 
It is very voracious in its eating and will take 
almost any kind of bait. In some places the 
natives capture a supply of fish by pouring the 
juice of a vine into the water, which seems to 
have the effect of an anaesthetic upon them. 
Turtles also abound, and are considered a great 



The Amazon 



171 



delicacy by the natives. A full grown turtle 
will reach three feet in length. They are most 
easily caught during the egg-laying season, 
when they are trapped on the sandy banks 
where they have gone to lay their eggs. The 
latter are greedily eaten, so that it is a wonder 
the species does not become extinct. 

The birds of this valley are brilliant in their 
plumage beyond those of any other portion of 
the world. Parrots and paroquets of all sorts 
abound in countless numbers, some of the 
former being of large size. The finest species 
is the hyacin thine macaw, which is three feet 
long from the beak to the tip of its tail. With 
its beak this bird can crack a nut which it is 
difficult to crack with a hammer. The toucan, 
with its curved beak almost as large as its 
body, the curious umbrella bird, the dancing 
" cock of the rock," the humming-birds and 
many other species add bright flashes of col- 
our to the otherwise sombre colours of the 
woods. 

It is in the numbers and varieties of insec- 
tivorous birds that these forests specially 
abound. Hundreds of them may be seen at 
almost any time moving about with the greatest 
activity, from species no larger than a sparrow 



172 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



to others the size of a crow. There are tanagers, 
ant-thrushes, fly-catchers and bargets, running 
up the trees and flitting about the leaves or 
lower branches. The hustling crowd lose no 
time, and, although seeming to move in concert, 
each bird is occupied on its own account in 
searching bark, leaf or twig. Then again, in 
a few minutes, all these hosts may disappear 
and the forest will remain deserted and silent. 
One bird, the organ bird, is a remarkable song- 
ster. When its notes are heard for the first 
time, it is hard to resist the impression that it 
is a human voice. It is especially noticeable 
because of the general absence of song birds 
in the tropical forests. 

The numbers and varieties of insects are 
countless from the gorgeous butterflies to the 
leaf insects, which it is almost impossible for 
the uninitiated to discover because of the close 
resemblance to the foliage which they inhabit. 
The Amazon is really the despair of the natu- 
ralist by reason of the abundance of its plant 
and animal life. One naturalist reports having 
found upwards of seven thousand insects in one 
locality. Included in this list were five hun- 
dred and fifty distinct specimens of the butter- 
fly. No description can convey an adequate 



The Amazon 



173 



idea of the beauty and diversity in form of this 
class of insects. There are many beautifully 
coloured beetles, whose delicate tints are mar- 
vels of beauty. There are flies which swarm 
along the banks in such numbers as to look like 
columns of smoke. The ants themselves are an 
interesting study, for their numbers are legion. 
There are ants that fly and ants that crawl; 
some that bite and others that sting; species 
that are carnivorous and species that are purely 
vegetable feeders ; good and bad, big and little, 
industrious and lazy. No form of insect life is 
more interesting than these little creatures that 
can teach lessons to the human race. The 
jaguar, or tapir, does not create so great a 
commotion in the forest, as the armies of 
foraging ants which oftentimes march. They 
carry death and destruction to all other forms 
of insect life which can not fly far enough, or 
run fast enough, to escape these enemies. 
Wherever they move the whole animal world is 
set in commotion, and every living creature is 
possessed of but one idea, and that to get out 
of the way just as soon as possible. The ants 
march along in solid columns in a given direc- 
tion, clearing the ground, bushes and small 
trees of every living thing. They will even 



174 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



attack a human being, if lie should fail to get 
out of the way, and a few bites or stings will 
soon cause him to scamper away as fast as his 
legs can carry him. 

For more than a hundred miles before reach- 
ing the mouth of the Amazon its dirty current 
colours the otherwise blue waters of the At- 
lantic. Entering the delta by one of the numer- 
ous outlets, the steamer passes through channels 
which are surrounded on either side by islands 
covered with dense vegetation a hundred feet 
or more high, with a border of lilies and other 
aquatic plants. It is like a fairy garden, and 
the islands are peopled with a noisy population 
of monkeys and parrots. Occasionally, a huge 
snake may be exposed to view on the limb of a 
tree. There are many kinds of trees, from 
adolescent saplings, as big as your arm, to im- 
mense trunks many feet through. And what 
a variety of palms ! There are little palms that 
branch out like fans and do not grow high. 
There are palms, loaded with cocoanuts, which 
lean out over the water's edge at a very pro- 
nounced angle. One species is armed with fear- 
ful spines, but bears an edible nut, while the 
cohune palm grows great clusters of hard, oily 
nuts. Above all the members of this arborial 



The Amazon 



175 



family tower the lofty royal palms, which are 
the aristocrats of this family. 

The native finds this tropical tree most use- 
ful, for 

" To him the palm is a gift divine, 
Wherein all uses of man combine, 
House and raiment and food and wine." 

The tree which bears the Brazil nuts of com- 
merce is one of the highest of the Amazonian 
trees and overtops the royal palm. Its foliage 
is of a deep green and spreads out on all sides. 
The nuts grow in a great pod as large as a 
good-sized apple, and inside the thick husk will 
be found fifteen or twenty of these rich and 
delicious nuts. Flowering trees are omnipres- 
ent in these forests, and some of them are cov- 
ered with beautiful flowers ; or perhaps it may 
be a vine that bears the flowers one sees in the 
canopy overhead. They are neither buttercups 
nor violets, and yet it may be that they resemble 
those better known blossoms. 

After threading this system of narrow chan- 
nels the boat enters the river proper, which at 
first is very wide and is more like an inland 
sea ; the natives call it the sea-river. In places 
it opens out in sea-like expanses; at times the 
boat coasts along the shore near enough to hear 



176 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the monkeys chatter, and again it is out so far 
that the shore is only a hazy line. The lower 
river varies from two to ten miles in width, bnt 
yon are never sure whether you are not mis- 
taking the shores of islands for the actual banks 
of the river. Slowly past you floats debris that 
has come for two thousand miles on these yel- 
low waters. Mixed up with the water may be 
soil from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and half of 
the republics of South America. You pass the 
mouths of streams which are themselves navi- 
gable for a thousand miles by vessels. In all 
it has been said that the Amazon and its tribu- 
taries furnish fifty thousand miles of navigable 
waters, half of which are available for steam- 
ers. There are few towns of any size, and only 
a few miserable little villages. Along the bank 
is an occasional cleared patch on which stands 
the little wood and thatch hut of a rubber 
gatherer. Naked babies play on the shores and 
barefooted men and women gaze at your 
steamer as it goes by. There are no roads in 
the forest, and if a path is blazed to-day in six 
months it would be impassable. Every one 
travels by water, except the rubber gatherers 
and medicine hunters, who chop their way 
through the undergrowth. 



The Amazon 



177 



Nature's apothecary shop is located here, for 
hundreds of medicinal plants have been found 
in these woods and jungles. Sarsaparilla is 
probably the most profitable, but ipecac, oil of 
copaiba, and many other drugs useful in stop- 
ping a tooth-ache or poisoning a dog, are ex- 
tracted from trees and vines of the Amazon 
Valley. Gums and balsams, essential oils and 
dyeing substances, spices and aromatic plants 
are also among the varied products. 

Earn! Eain! Eain! One tires of hearing its 
ceaseless patter on the roof, and everything is 
soon covered with a coat of rust. Every article 
made of leather, which is allowed to stand for 
a few days, becomes covered with a down-like 
fungi of green mould. From November to 
February is the " rainy " season, and then the 
rain falls in perfect torrents, and the Amazon, 
fed by all its connecting streams, rises twenty- 
five, thirty or forty feet above its usual level. 
Thousands of square miles of territory are then 
submerged, and inland seas are formed in many 
places. The fall of the river is not more than 
two hundred inches in the first thousand miles 
from its mouth, and the current is not very 
swift. For this distance the depth will average 
one hundred and fifty feet. 



178 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



After travelling up the Amazon as far as 
from Boston to Chicago the Eio Negro is 
reached. The name means the black river. As 
one writer says, " the Eio Negro is as black as 
one's hat and the Amazon is as yellow as pea 
soup." It is a very wide river at its mouth, 
and the steamer turns up into its black waters. 
Just ahead may be seen a haze of white build- 
ings with their red tile roofs. Here, in the 
midst of this vast wilderness, where the forest 
stretches out for hundreds of miles in each 
direction, and where a monkey could travel for 
days by jumping from branch to branch, is 
located a live, hustling town with fine public 
buildings, electric lights, electric tram lines and 
a theatre that would be a credit to any town. 
The ridges of the roofs are sometimes so cov- 
ered with turkey-buzzards as almost to make 
one think at first sight that they are artificial 
ornaments. They used to be the chief sanitary 
force, but the new waterworks and sewer sys- 
tem have greatly relieved their labours. Like 
Para, this city smells of rubber and the day 
dreams of the inhabitants are permeated with 
that one idea. 

Above the junction with the Eio Negro the 
Amazon is called the Solimoes, for a thousand 



The Amazon 



179 



miles, and beyond that it is known as the 
Maranon. At Iquitos, in Peru, this river is a 
mile wide. The area of the basin of this river 
is three times that of the Mississippi. The 
Tocantins, Xingn, Tapajos, Purus, Negro, 
Jurua, and Madeira, all noble streams in them- 
selves, pour their floods into this one channel. 
The last named river leads to the famous Acre 
territory, which has proven a bonanza for Bra- 
zil. She paid Bolivia $9,600,000 in 1904, and in 
the next five years it paid back nearly $24,000,- 
000 in export duties on rubber alone. 

The great traveller of a century ago, Baron 
von Humboldt, declared that " The valley of 
the Amazon in the near future is bound to 
become a great centre of civilization and the 
world's greatest storehouse.' ' This prediction 
has not proven true, for more than a century 
has passed since the statement was made and 
little development has been made. The natural 
resources are there, just as Humboldt saw them, 
however, and still await the efforts of man to 
turn them to good account. Right at the mouth 
of the Amazon lies the great state of Para, as 
large as two states the size of Texas, with only 
half a million inhabitants, less than one person 
to each square mile of territory, scattered over 



180 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



its confines. It has a fertile soil capable of pro- 
ducing almost anything necessary for the sup- 
port and comfort of life ; it possesses tablelands 
at an elevation high enough to escape the mois- 
ture of the river and continued heat of a trop- 
ical sun; in the mouth of the Amazon is an 
island almost as large as Portugal, which is 
capable of supplying thousands of head of cattle 
for the world's food supply. 

The trouble with Para is that the people 
think of nothing, deal in nothing and dream of 
nothing but rubber. To quote the American 
Consul: " Last year the United States took 
twenty thousand tons of crude rubber at a cost 
of $64,000,000, and we are still howling for 
more. The other things we took are small, 
although Brazil nuts, balsams, deerskins and a 
few other items amounted to something. What 
did we send them! Practically nothing that 
they could buy elsewhere. Some flour, petro- 
leum, hardware and such other things as they 
themselves have looked up and found good." 
And yet the city of Para, is a thousand miles 
nearer to New York than it is to London or 
Hamburg, where the principal buying is done. 
The federal government receives twenty per 
cent, of the market value of every ton of rubber 



The Amazon 



181 



shipped, and in return promises, at some time 
in the future, to give the people good roads and 
other improvements. That happy day has not 
yet arrived, but rubber seems to be becoming 
higher each year and more difficult to procure. 
This perhaps accounts for the lack of improve- 
ment in some directions, that neither govern- 
ment nor people take time to think of anything 
except the one staple of rubber. 

The city of Santa Maria de Belem do Para is 
the principal port of the Amazon basin, and the 
greatest rubber shipping port in the world. It 
lies nearly a hundred miles from the Atlantic, 
but is as much on the Atlantic as New Orleans 
is on the Gulf, and is usually called an Atlantic 
port. It is only a few miles from the equator, 
and consequently is quite hot, for its elevation 
is only a few feet above sea level. And yet 
right here, almost on the " line," has grown 
up a beautiful city of over one hundred thou- 
sand people, who enjoy life and live almost as 
many years as those in more favourable loca- 
tions. This city with the long name is generally 
known as Para, although Belem, meaning 
Bethlehem, is the proper name. It is perhaps 
the prettiest city in Brazil, except Bio de 
Janeiro, and has many parks and plazas filled 



182 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



with the luxuriant vegetation and noble palms 
which grow so luxuriantly here. Statues orna- 
ment nearly all of their public squares and 
parks, and many of them are well done. The 
public buildings are numerous and tasty, as is 
most of the architecture of the country. 

The sanitary conditions of the city have been 
greatly improved in the past few years, and a 
new sewer system to be worked by pumps some- 
thing like the New Orleans method has just 
been begun. It is as a shipping port that the 
city is best known. To quote again from the 
American Consul: " Eight hundred and fifty- 
three steamers entered the port of Para in 1908, 
having a tonnage of nine hundred and fifty 
thousand tons, but it was mainly remarkable 
for the fact that we did not fly the flag on even 
one cargo boat." It is only in the last few 
decades that this city has become very impor- 
tant, for no longer ago than the Civil War Para 
was only a tropical trading port. 

The docks are busy places, for steamers from 
all parts of the world, and flying many flags, 
come here. Men of all shades, from a dirty 
yellow to black and white, are busy handling 
the staple commodity of rubber. The rubber is 
all put up in sacks, and taken to the shipping 



The Amazon 



183 



houses, of which there are scores near the 
wharves. Every one handles " caoutchouc " 
and the air smells of it, the hot sun giving it 
an odour of burnt rubber. Everywhere they 
are cutting the dried rubber, which looks like 
great cheeses, chopping it, packing it, carrying 
it and loading it on vessels. 

The Amazon district dominates the rubber 
market of the world. Para and Manaos are the 
greatest rubber exporting ports of that district. 
From these cities the rubber buyers make their 
expeditions into the very heart of the Amazon, 
and its many tributaries are nearly all the home 
of rubber gatherers. From these centres the 
Indian gatherers make their expeditions by 
canoe, and through almost trackless forests to 
the trees which they are tapping. These trees 
do not grow in clumps, but one will be found 
here, another there, and oftentimes these single 
trees are at a distance of several hundred yards 
from each other. The amount of crude rubber 
that the native can gather depends on how close 
the trees may be to each other. 

Upwards of one hundred rubber-bearing 
trees, vines and shrubs have been classified; 
but the one known as the Hevea is the rubber 
tree par excellence of Brazil. It is indigenous 



184 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



to the Amazon and its tributaries. Trees are 
oftentimes found which are as much as twelve 
feet in circumference, but those are exceptional. 
They require an abundance of moisture, and it 
is only in the thick forest, where the necessary 
moisture is constant and abundant, that they 
will reach this extraordinary size, although the 
trees can be successfully cultivated. It is quite 
probable that thousands of these trees are still 
undiscovered, and perhaps large districts still 
await development; but it is equally certain 
that the rubber prospector has threaded his 
way through thousands of miles of Amazonian 
jungle in his search after this profitable article 
of commerce. The present unprecedented 
prices have bestirred the exporting firms to 
feverish activity. Sections of hitherto un- 
pierced forest are now being treaded by the 
prospector, with his Indian guides busily en- 
gaged in cutting a path through the dense un- 
dergrowth and labyrinth of vines. The howling 
of the enraged beasts thus disturbed in their 
lairs, the fear of poisonous snakes, the dread 
of the fever-laden mosquito, the annoyance of 
troublesome insects are nothing, with the price 
of rubber soaring upwards towards three dol- 
lars per pound. 



The Amazon 



185 



An American rubber expert, who recently 
visited the Amazon rubber camps, says : ' ' The 
past year more than seventy thousand tons of 
crude rubber, having a value approximating 
$300,000,000, were produced, of which forty 
thousand tons came out of the Amazon Eiver. 
This was wholly wild rubber, gathered almost 
entirely from a belt extending along the Ama- 
zon and its tributaries, and running less than 
three miles into the interior. The vast forest 
beyond these borders is substantially un- 
touched; but with the building of the railroad 
around the falls of the Madeira, which will be 
completed in 1911, with the building of roads 
through the forest connecting up rivers, and 
with the introduction of the gasoline boat, vast 
districts heretofore inaccessible will be brought 
within the reach of the rubber gatherer; and, 
while the gain in production each year has been 
approximately but ten per cent, over the previ- 
ous year, there is no question that this percent- 
age will increase largely from this time for- 
ward. ' ' 

It is not the sap of the tree that produces the 
rubber, but a juice which is yielded by the bark. 
As it flows this juice has the appearance of 
milk, and acts in much the same way. If left 



186 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



to itself it will separate into a lower fluid and 
a surface mass like cream, and this is the so- 
called india-rubber. Less than fifteen per cento 
of this " cream " in the product of the tree is 
unprofitable and does not pay for the working. 
Various ways have been devised to separate 
the rubber by processes of coagulation. The 
native method has always been by a smoking 
heat, but in some places chemicals are used; 
again separators, similar to those employed in 
butter making, have been introduced with good 
results, so it is said. The method and care used 
has a very marked influence on the price and 
value of the crude rubber in the markets. The 
heating by smoke is generally considered to 
produce the cleanest and purest form of rubber 
for commercial export. 

The tapping of a rubber tree is a seemingly 
simple operation, and yet it requires consider- 
able skill to so tap a tree as to produce the 
maximum of sap, and inflict the minimum of 
injury to the tree. A tree properly treated will 
stand continual tapping for twenty years, while 
a tree abused might die after two or three sea- 
sons. Hence it is to the interest of all to pre- 
serve the life of the tree. The tapper first 
affixes a small cup to the tree, and then with 



The Amazon 



187 



a wedge-shaped axe makes a gash in the bark, 
being careful not to penetrate the wood. This 
operation is repeated at intervals of a foot in 
a line around the tree. Into these cups the 
milk flows slowly. The next day a row of incis- 
ions is made just below the first, and so on until 
the ground is reached. A good tree will yield 
up to a height of at least twenty feet. An ex- 
pert can tap a hundred trees a day, provided 
that they are close together. The sap, which 
is collected once each day, is then brought to 
the camp. Heat is then applied and the crude 
rubber is made into roughly-shaped balls of 
different sizes. The buyers usually cut these in 
two in order to see that no extraneous substance 
has been placed inside to give weight. Stones 
have frequently been found moulded in with 
the rubber, and stones are easier to gather even 
along the Amazon than rubber. Many planta- 
tions of rubber trees, principally of the Main- 
goba species, which will grow on higher and 
drier lands of the interior, have been set out 
in Brazil, but their production is very small 
when compared with that of the dense Ama- 
zonian forests. 

Of the other valuable trees of the Amazon 
basin Agassiz says: " The importance of the 



188 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



basin of the Amazons to Brazil, from an indus- 
trial point of view, can hardly be over-esti- 
mated. Its woods alone have an almost price- 
less value. Nowhere in the world is there finer 
timber, either for solid construction or for work 
of ornament, and yet it is scarcely used even 
for the local buildings, and makes no part what- 
ever of the exports. The rivers which flow past 
these magnificent forests seem meant to serve, 
first as a waterpower for the sawmills, which 
ought to be established along their borders, and 
then as a means of transportation for the mate- 
rial so provided. Setting aside the woods as 
timber, what shall I say of the mass of fruits, 
resins, oils, colouring matters and textile fab- 
rics which they yield? " These words of this 
great naturalist, although written years ago, 
are just as true to-day. At least one hundred 
and fifty varieties of valuable hardwood tim- 
bers have been found in these forests. As 
mahogany and other better known woods be- 
come scarcer, these woods will certainly find a 
market. 

The great state of Amazonas, which is more 
than two-thirds as large as the United States 
east of the Mississippi, is an empire in itself. 
It is difficult to predict what may be its future. 



The Amazon 



189 



Some scientific men say that civilization will 
again be centred in the tropics ; if so, then here 
will be the future Europe. Any prediction 
would be only guesswork, for no man with only 
human foresight could look into the future and 
foretell the development. The possibilities are 
visible to even the shallow observer ; the uncer- 
tain trend of civilization no one can with cer- 
tainty prognosticate. Nature is kind, if her 
laws are obeyed, and the white man endures 
the climate better than his copper-coloured 
brother. It would be the lazy man's paradise, 
for it takes little labour to provide the simple 
wants. The only difficult task is to fight nature 
in her prodigal growth. The struggle of the 
northern farmer with weeds is an infantile task 
in comparison with the constant fight against 
every kind of growth in this climate. It would 
be a hopeless task for one man, lone handed 
and without means, to locate in this wilderness 
and attempt to carve out his fortune. Goodly 
sized colonies would do better, and, by their 
energetic and united efforts, nature would be 
conquered and compelled to contribute of her 
bounty to the welfare and support of man. 

Outside of Manaos and a few small towns and 
settlements the population of the state of 



190 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Amazonas consists almost entirely of Indians. 
One industrious writer has listed nearly four 
hundred separate and distinct tribes. Many of 
these are extinct, or practically extinct, but a 
large number of distinct tribes are still found 
on the different rivers that have widely diver- 
gent habits and physical characteristics. A few 
of these tribes live a retired existence in the 
forests, but most of them mingle with the white 
people, and are employed by them in gathering 
rubber or other products of the forests. The 
skin of the Indians is a coppery-brown colour. 
They are of a medium height, but have not the 
high cheek bones of the North American Indian. 
Like the latter, however, they are undemon- 
strative, and do not betray their emotions of 
joy and grief, wonder or fear. They will un- 
doubtedly be driven out and disappear as the 
white race settle in the tropics, for their in- 
flexible character prevents them from adapting 
themselves to changed conditions. 

Although these Indians have dropped canni- 
balism, and other inhuman practices, they are 
still simple children in their customs and be- 
liefs. They live as their ancestors have lived 
for centuries, have adopted few of the conven- 
iences or luxuries of civilization, and live a 



The Amazon 



191 



hand-to-mouth existence. Religious holidays 
are observed with a strange mixture of super- 
stition. Their idea of a holiday, whether re- 
ligious or secular, is " bonfires, processions, 
masquerading, confused drumming and fifing, 
monotonous dancing kept up hour after hour 
without intermission, and, the most important 
part of all, getting gradually and completely 
drunk." They are kindly disposed toward 
aliens, and are as hospitable as their circum- 
stances permit. The Tupi-Guarini language 
is generally spoken, or at least understood, and 
this has been reduced to written form by the 
Jesuit clergy. 



CHAPTER X 



THE PEOPLE AND THEIE CHAKACTEKISTICS 

The Brazilian people are made up of three 
distinct races : Europeans of every nationality, 
but most of Latin origin, Indians and negroes, 
the latter two nationalities being more or less 
mixed in the process of assimilation, and dis- 
tributed all along the seaboard and the rivers, 
from the Amazon to the Parana. In Brazil 
there is no race problem or antagonism between 
white and black, or Indian, and the hopeful ones 
say that in course of time not only all race dis- 
tinctions, but even colour distinction, will dis^ 
appear, and be merged in the new Brazilian 
type. 

The pure Indians are now found only on the 
Amazon, the headwaters of the Paraguay, and 
the sections remote from the railways of such 
states as Sao Paulo, Parana, Bahia and others. 
Most of them were never the bloodthirsty race 
that our own redskins were, although a number 
of the tribes were cannibalistic in their prac- 

192 

h 



The People and Their Characteristics 193 



tices. The number still existing is placed at 
about six hundred thousand. There was no 
regular spreading of civilization and popula- 
tion, but it was done through the sporadic set- 
tlement of advancing posts which were pushed 
out into the wilderness. They were at first 
armed against the Indians, who were then hos- 
tile, but most of the aborigines were finally 
subjugated, and gathered into settlements by 
the conquerors. These settlements formed the 
nuclei about which the towns. began to grow. 
As there were few European women in the 
country, the Portuguese took wives from among 
the conquered people, and such a connection 
was not considered a mesalliance, even by those 
of good birth. 

From these alliances arose the mixture of 
Indians and Europeans, which runs through 
many of the very best families in Brazil. In 
the state of Sao Paulo, for instance, this mix- 
ture became very marked, and produced an 
almost white race as the strain of Indian blood 
became less. It was from this race that the 
original " Paulistas " sprang, who distin- 
guished themselves among the Brazilians for 
their bravery in driving the savage Indians 
from the coast, and later by their enterprise 



194 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and administrative capacity. I met one of 
these men in that state who. was a wealthy 
fazendero, and a graduate of one of the best 
schools in our own land. I was impressed by 
his courtesy and intelligence, and finally asked 
him from what nationality he was descended. 
He said that his ancestry were Portuguese and 
Indian. " And," he then added, " I am proud 
of the Indian blood in me." From the way he 
said it, it was plain to be seen that he meant 
it ; and such is the feeling of all those who have 
that mixture. Some of the very best men in 
that and other states have at least a slight trace 
of the aborigine blood in their veins. 

The negroes, just as in our own land, were 
originally brought to Brazil and sold in bond- 
age. The first slaves were imported into the 
state of Bahia in 1574. Just seventeen years 
later the official records give the population of 
that settlement as two thousand whites, four 
thousand negro slaves and six thousand civi- 
lized Indians. This will give a little idea of 
how rapidly the negroes were brought into the 
country by the slave traders. Great sugar plan- 
tations were worked, and on these were em- 
ployed the cheap labour. The black slaves so 
exceeded in number the whites that insurrec- 




NEGROES IN BRAZIL. 



The People and Their Characteristics 195 



tions broke out in many places. In Minas 
Geraes, for instance, out of a population of 
fifty thousand in the early part of the eight- 
eenth century, thirty-five thousand were negro 
slaves, and most of these recent imports. Some 
of the whites were so fearful of their own lives, 
that the governor petitioned the King to put 
into execution the " Black Code," which meant 
that the right leg of a fugitive slave might be 
cut off and a wooden one substituted. Thus, 
by terror, the excess of blacks was kept in 
subjection. 

The proportion of black population is much 
greater in the northeastern states than else- 
where. As one journeys south they become less 
numerous, until, when you reach the extreme 
southern states, they are uncommon. In the 
state of Bahia, those with a negro admixture 
far outnumbered the whites. This is due not 
only to the fact that slavery was first introduced 
there, but also because it was sooner abolished 
in that state, and fugitive slaves escaping from 
the coffee plantations fled there, just as they 
did to our own Northern states. Those who 
were able to buy their freedom in other states 
went there as well as those who were volun- 
tarily freed by their masters, as thousands were 



196 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



all over Brazil. In Minas Geraes perhaps one- 
third of the population have negro blood in 
their veins. 

When slavery was finally abolished, in 1888, 
there were perhaps seven hundred and fifty 
thousand slaves in the empire, the most of these 
being held in the coffee producing states. In 
Sao Paulo to-day the negro population is very 
small, as it is said that the former slaves soon 
became decimated by the excesses in which they 
indulged when freedom was gained. In the 
whole republic perhaps very near to one-half the 
entire population has at least a trace of negro 
blood in their veins. The mixture is very 
marked in the north, and down as far as Rio 
de Janeiro, and almost to Sao Paulo. There is, 
however, no race prejudice that I could per- 
ceive. In schools I saw kinky-haired boys and 
girls side by side with the whites, and in all 
public places they mingled freely. Negro law- 
yers and doctors appeared to be patronized by 
the whites, and their families seemed to have 
friends among all classes. Officially, at least, 
there is no distinction, and men have occupied 
the highest offices in the republic, who unmis- 
takably had a trace of the negro blood. Amer- 
icans, who live there, as well as some native 



The People and Their Characteristics 197 



Brazilians, tell me that there is a growing preju- 
dice among those free from the negro blood 
against that race, and even the slightest mixture 
of it, until it has now become very noticeable in 
many ways, and is even making itself felt in 
political circles. I am making this statement 
solely upon the authority of those who live 
there, and ought to know better than a travel- 
ler ; but, as for myself, I saw no evidence what- 
ever of such a state of public sentiment. 

Says Dr. Hale in his book, " The South 
Americans,' ' " I was invited one evening to a 
small dinner-party at which we were to meet 

Senhorita X , a young lady freshly launched 

into society, whose musical talent was excep- 
tional, even in this land naturally so gifted with 
love of both poetry and music. I was the only 
one of the guests who had not met her, so that 
she was smothered with greetings before I was 
presented; but when my turn came, I was as- 
tonished to find before me what we would call 
a mulatto — kinky hair, thick lips and promi- 
nent teeth. There was not the least trace of 
embarrassment in her or the rest of the com- 
pany. She sat opposite me at table, played for 
us later some brilliant piano pieces, and kissed 
all the ladies good-bye with so much ease that 



198 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



it was absolutely impossible to conceive any 
difference among us on account of race. ' ' 

The next largest foreign element is the Ital- 
ian, of whom there are two million or more. 
They readily adapt themselves to Brazil, be- 
cause of the similarity of customs and language. 
They are frugal and industrious, and are grad- 
ually acquiring wealth and power. A great in- 
fluence has also been wielded by the German 
colonists who flocked to Southern Brazil in 
great numbers, about the middle of last century. 
There are perhaps nearly one-half million of 
this stock. They have not progressed as have 
the Germans in the United States, perhaps be- 
cause a living came too easily, and nature was 
too bountiful. The majority of them went to 
Brazil after the revolution of 1848, and one can 
trace many of the settlements by the names of 
the towns. They do not intermingle or inter- 
marry with the Brazilians like the other colo- 
nists, and one can find whole communities where 
no one understands the Portuguese language. 
They are citizens of Brazil, and yet take little 
interest in the body politic, neither caring for 
the position of alderman or policeman. 

It is the Portuguese element in Brazil, of 
course, that are the most interesting, and there 



The People and Their Characteristics 199 



is at least a remnant of the pure Portuguese 
left. And they have many good and excellent 
qualities. As a race they frequently lack what 
Americans term the practical element, but they 
have some of the finer traits, frequently missing 
in our own people. They have an innate cour- 
tesy which is sometimes almost overwhelming. 
If the same thing was done by an Anglo-Saxon, 
in the same profuse manner, it would be looked 
upon as overdone; but, coming from a Brazil- 
ian, it is done with such a grace and smoothness 
that seems only natural. You are greeted with 
an exquisite courtesy, especially after one or 
two meetings, and the parting is a series of 
courtesies. You shake hands about half a dozen 
times before finally separating, then pause and 
turn as you reach the door and make a final 
bow before leaving the room; and this final 
courtesy is always awaited by your host. If 
friends separate, or meet after an absence, they 
fall into one another's arms and mutually pat 
each other on the back as a mark of affection. 
This is never done upon first acquaintance. It 
is a slow ceremony when there is a large list to 
be greeted, but it is faithfully gone through 
with ; first a hand shake, and then the embrace 
if the intimacy warrants it. 



200 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



The street car conductor hands you your 
ticket with a little courtesy, and even the hotel 
servant, and they are always men, finds time 
to say obligado (much obliged), when you hand 
him the gratuity he expects as a matter of right. 
The carigador at the station, who carries your 
baggage to the train, may haggle with you over 
the price, but when the affair is settled he cour- 
teously tips his hat and wishes you a horn viaje, 
which means " a pleasant voyage.' ' If you 
remove your coat on the train, or enter a first- 
class car without wearing a collar and tie, the 
conductor reproves you with a little courtesy, 
as though he was performing a very unpleasant 
duty. The clerk in the store never hurries you 
in making your purchases, but patiently places 
himself at your disposition. And so it is as you 
travel all through the country, there is courtesy 
present everywhere, and you can not help but 
like the people for these traits. 

They might also teach us something in their 
philosophical outlook upon life. The doctrine 
of " don't hurry " and " don't worry " is 
deeply rooted, and gives them greater enjoy- 
ment in life than among a race whose nerves 
are continually on edge. They resent any as- 
sumption of superiority, but recognize freely 



The People and Their Characteristics 201 



and generously the good qualities of the Anglo- 
Saxon. There is a lax moral tone on the part 
of the men which could be much improved, and 
which would greatly benefit the country at 
large. 

In the homes that I visited excellent taste 
was shown in the furnishing and decorations. 
There was only one arrangement that grew 
painfully monotonous. In the reception room 
a couch was always placed against the wall, and 
the chairs for guests invariably placed at right 
angles to this, a row at each end. This gives 
the host or hostess a chance to see each guest, 
and the favoured one is invited to share it with 
her, or possibly to occupy it alone. The chairs 
are oftentimes stiff and uncomfortable, but it 
is bad taste to move them, or twist around in 
them, as Americans are often accustomed to do. 
The house is yours for the time being. As one 
man told me in broken English, " your house " 
and " your friend.'' And it was my house, at 
least I was welcome in it ; and he was my friend, 
I am pleased to say, for he proved it. When 
you are going away in Brazil, your friends 
always accompany you to the station, no mat- 
ter how far away or how early in the morning. 
I must admit it is a pretty custom, and makes 



202 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



you feel that friends are a good thing to 
have. I have had Brazilian friends, of only 
a few days' standing, perform this little cour- 
tesy, men of prominence and influence, and I 
confess that it reaches a tender place in my 
heart. 

The Brazilian women are handsome in their 
youth. Their bright eyes and dark features at 
that age are very fascinating. Especially in 
Rio their physique is much better than that of 
the men, for the " stronger sex " in that city 
are mostly narrow-shouldered and rather thin- 
chested. The women dress with good taste, but 
their styles have no uniqueness about them, for 
they wear the same high-heeled, uncomfortable- 
looking shoes, and the same large Parisian- 
shaped hats that have driven men to despair 
the world over. As their years increase, how- 
ever, they have a tendency to become stout, due 
perhaps to hearty eating and lack of exercise. 
I must say that the Brazilians are particularly 
fond of eating, and in this hot climate will de- 
vour much more food, and especially meat, than 
those from colder climes ; and, in addition, they 
seldom eat the noon breakfast, or dinner, with- 
out at least half a bottle of light wine of some 
kind. 



The People and Their Characteristics 203 



At Rio, and in Northern Brazil, the women 
are subject to all the social restrictions that 
have ever been the lot of women in Latin coun- 
tries. The young women can not go out unac- 
companied by an older woman or the family 
servant, and in the social life there is nothing 
of what American women would term freedom. 
They perhaps do not miss this so much, for it 
has been the custom of the race for generations 
untold. At Sao Paulo, and some of the other 
southern states, there is a noticeable breaking 
away from the centuries-old traditions, due, 
perhaps, to foreign influence. There one can 
see even young Brazilian ladies out alone on a 
shopping tour ; and, although there is not free- 
dom of association among young people of the 
two sexes, the beginning of the change is appar- 
ent, and I would not be surprised to see even a 
radical change in this respect in another decade 
or two. The women there are beginning to feel 
the narrowness of their lives, and to long for 
the freedom which they see the young people 
of other nationalities enjoy. One will likewise 
find women employed in some of the stores, and 
occasionally, in other public positions in the 
cities of that state. 

It is true that political ideals in Brazil are 



204 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



not so lofty as they should be. If the reports 
of investigation committees are true in our own 
land, however, our own stables need a little look- 
ing after. There is undoubtedly more ' ' graft ' ' 
in Brazil than with us. Nevertheless, the Bra- 
zilians are not without ideals. The develop- 
ment of the artistic in parks and buildings is 
a convincing proof of this. The officials demand 
work to be up to specifications, and then want 
their " graft " to be over and above this, in- 
stead of the American practice of " skinning 
the job " to accomplish the same end. This is 
their system, and there is generally not so much 
coarse juggling as sometimes happens with us. 
Bankruptcy is not so common as with us, and 
bills contracted by private individuals are gen- 
erally paid. The men are reprehensible in their 
private conduct, but the women are generally 
good. 

Said an American to me, who has lived in 
that country for forty years, and who is the best 
judge of Brazilian character that I know : ' ' The 
Brazilian women, those who have not the mix- 
ture of negro blood, are good and pure, and in 
them lie the great hope of the race." They are 
domestic, are the mothers of large families, and 
nowhere is there a sincerer love for their chil- 



The People and Their Characteristics 205 



dren shown than by these Brazilian women. In 
Eio there is a fast set, just as there is in every 
large city where there is wealth, and an idle 
class, and where every opportunity exists for 
the indulgence in vice. In the lower classes, 
and there are practically only two classes in 
Brazil, looseness in the sexual relation is very 
common and the percentage of illegitimacy is 
high. It is not looked down upon, and neither 
the unfortunate children nor their mothers re- 
ceive social ostracism. 

The upper classes of the Brazilians are a 
well educated and cultivated people. Most of 
them have been schooled in France, and speak 
the French language almost as fluently as their 
own. In Paris there is always a goodly sized 
Brazilian colony, and the boats passing between 
Eio and Europe always carry a number of Bra- 
zilians to and from that European capital. 
They find the atmosphere of the French capital 
more congenial, and full of the simpatica which 
means so much to the Latin people. The girls 
who go abroad for education are all sent to the 
convents of France, but many boys are now sent 
to schools in the States, especially for a tech- 
nical education. Those who do go come back 
enthusiastic over the United States, and many 



206 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of them bring back American wives, much to 
the discomfiture of the parents. 

An aristocracy exists which can yet be traced, 
and it is an aristocracy of wealth. It divides, 
with a sharp distinction, the aristocracy from 
the labouring element. It is perhaps unreason- 
able to expect the classes developed by a mon- 
archical form of government to disappear so 
soon, for the spirit was imbued in the dozen or 
more generations preceding the present one. 
Among that class it was considered a disgrace 
to labour with one's hands, and this fact has 
made politics and the holding of political posi- 
tions a profession. This weakness in politics 
is, in my opinion, one of the evils of Brazil. It 
becomes a business and a passion with the men, 
even in a more intense degree than in our own 
land. The young man must first secure the 
title of doctor, and every professional man, 
physician, lawyer, civil engineer, teacher, etc., 
receives this title. 1 Then he must obtain some 
government appointment. Finally, when his 

1 The profession of a man can often be told by the ring he 
wears, which is generally placed on the first ringer. The ruby 
signifies a lawyer, the emerald a physician, the sapphire a civil 
engineer, the turquoise a military engineer and the granada, a 
red stone almost like a ruby, is worn by a chemist. 



The People and Their Characteristics 207 



own prestige becomes great enough, lie seeks 
election to some office. To politics can be 
blamed the lack of advancement in many lines. 

Said one of the wealthiest and most progres- 
sive business men in Bio de Janeiro, himself a 
Brazilian, to me: " Politics are the curse of 
the country. It is all words and delay. The 
politicians like to talk about their great country. 
They boast that the Amazon is the greatest 
river in the world, so large that the Mississippi 
dwindles into an insignificant stream in com- 
parison; that Bio is the finest harbour in the 
world and capable of floating all the navies in 
existence; and that Brazil has the greatest 
undeveloped natural resources in the world. 
When any of the resources are developed, how- 
ever, it is not these men who help to do it, but 
it is the foreigner who sees the opportunity and 
grasps it. Congress meets and talks politics, 
instead of passing the necessary legislation. 
They want to subsidize everything instead of 
giving competition a chance. I am past sixty 
years of age, and it has been that way ever since 
I can remember." This is quite a severe ar- 
raignment of the evils of politics, but it was 
exemplified during my own visit. The regular 
session of Congress came to an end in October, 



208 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and a special session was at once convened, 
because the necessary appropriation bills bad 
not been passed. This was just a few days 
before the special service must adjourn, and no 
progress had then been made. Long speeches 
were made, but most of the talk was regarding 
the two candidates for the presidency. As this 
was the first time in the history of the country 
that there had been two active candidates for 
this high office, the senators and deputies spent 
their time arguing the merits of their respective 
candidates. The Congress had then been in con- 
tinuous session for almost nine months. 

Another unfortunate condition and charac- 
teristic is the dependence upon what Americans 
would term ' ' pull, ' ' or influence. Even the well 
qualified young man depends more upon that 
than upon the real qualifications he possesses. 
So many are looking for " soft snaps " that it 
becomes absolutely necessary to provide them. 
I heard of this from so many sources, both 
native and foreign, that I am fully impressed 
with its evil. It is even customary in educa- 
tional institutions for students, who have not 
been diligent, to bring to their professors at 
examination time letters of recommendation 
from influential persons, stating why this par- 



The People and Their Characteristics 209 



ticular student should be passed or given his 
degree. Foreign teachers soon shut down upon 
this method, and it has had a beneficial effect 
in their schools. Any work that is done under 
a concession must have a government inspector 
on the payrolls, and the man appointed is fre- 
quently one who knows nothing about the work, 
but draws his salary. A college must have a 
government inspector, who has nothing in par- 
ticular to do except that he must attend the 
examinations, and no degree is granted without 
his approval. This inspector may or may not 
be qualified for the position, but the salary of 
three hundred milreis per month from the col- 
lege makes it a nice political appointment, for 
it is practically a sinecure. 

The Brazilians are ambitious, but a lack of 
energy interferes with what they otherwise 
might accomplish. In many of the government 
departments and industries foreigners are em- 
ployed at large salaries, which might just as 
well be filled by natives, if the young men would 
only qualify themselves. Very many of the 
agricultural schools and experimental stations 
are in the charge of foreigners, Americans, Bel- 
gians, French and German. They are rather 
fanciful and visionary in their plans, and will 



210 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



not begin at the bottom as is necessary. They 
would rather build the superstructure first, for 
that is the showy part. It is perhaps the 
innate ambition, however, that will finally lead 
the country out of the rut. They are willing 
to be led but cannot be driven. 

" There is no public opinion in Brazil,' ' said 
one of the most influential and ablest men in 
Brazil, a man who has travelled extensively and 
made a study of other nations. " The masses 
do not think. The politicians plan and carry 
out things themselves and create the opinion.' ' 
This strikes me as being true. Politicians are 
the same everywhere, and here they have prac- 
tically a free hand. A large percentage of the 
population are not able to read or write, and 
the percentage of those who do take an interest 
in politics is small. They say that there is no 
use ; but it is a bad precedent. In every state 
there is a small clique who rule the politics of 
that state. If a man announces himself as a 
candidate for president, for instance, these wise 
men get together and announce their positions ; 
and this announcement is everywhere taken 
without question, as the choice of the state. No* 
political ring in the United States has ever been 
able to wield such absolutely despotic power as 



The People and Their Characteristics 211 



these cliques. There the voters will occasion- 
ally wake up and smash the corrupt machine, 
while in Brazil the elections are usually merely 
perfunctory occasions that must be gone 
through with. This does not mean that every 
one of these machines is bad, for many of the 
men who have this power use it for the benefit 
of the people, and have done much to advance 
the interests of the masses. To them great 
credit should be given, for, having it in their 
power to do absolutely as they wish, they have 
the courage and honesty to use this power in 
the interest of the people, just as much as if 
they had secured it from the people by a pop- 
ular suffrage. Out of the eighteen million peo- 
ple in the country there are perhaps six hundred 
thousand qualified to vote, and there have never 
been more than four hundred thousand votes 
cast in any presidential election. 

The people enjoy play, and always welcome 
" festa " occasions. Holidays are numerous 
and all join in their celebration. Brazil has two 
independence days, the 7th of September and 
the 15th of November, which are national holi- 
days and universally celebrated. The carnival 
season, however, which occurs the week preced- 
ing Lent, is the occasion of the greatest merry- 



212 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



making. It lasts for three whole days in Eio de 
Janeiro, and, during that time, business is 
wholly suspended in the cities. There are pro- 
cessions with music, and the streets are full of 
people in mask and gown, who dance and sing 
and blow horns and make disagreeable noises 
in general. Disguised in dominoes and masks 
they blow their horns, talk in falsetto voices, 
while the balconies and windows are filled with 
crowds of onlookers, women and children being 
especially prominent. Few people wear their 
best clothes, for it is the custom to squirt per- 
fumed water over passers-by from these bal- 
conies. This perfumed water is contained in 
little leaden vials, which are sold at stands all 
over the city. The streets are hung with the 
banners of all nations, little flags and coloured 
lanterns, and have all the appearance of a gala 
occasion. 

On the last of the three days a grand proces- 
sion is held. It is a procession of mounted mili- 
tary bands, men and women in ancient costume, 
immense floats, papier-mache figures, grotesque 
animal representations, men burlesquing women 
actresses, and women dressed as pages. King 
Carnival, upon a gorgeous throne, is always a 
part of the procession. The procession winds 



The People and Their Characteristics 213 



in and around one street after another, along 
the Avenida Central and the Beira Mar, and 
often takes hours to pass a given point. At 
night masquerade balls at the various theatres 
end the gaieties. The galleries and boxes are 
always filled with an interested audience, but 
the floor is given up to revelry and suggestive 
dancing, which would not merit the approval of 
polite society. 



CHAPTER XI 



EDUCATION AND THE ARTS 

The educational facilities in Brazil are not 
of the best in the republic as a whole. In some 
of the states, such as Sao Paulo, Eio de Janeiro 
and a part of Minas Geraes, the provisions are 
fairly good, but in none of them has the work 
been systematized in the same way that it has 
in our own land. Until the establishment of 
the republic the instruction was almost entirely 
in the hands of the church, but the duty now 
rests upon the various states and municipali- 
ties. Statistics upon education in Brazil are 
very unreliable, just as are their census reports, 
so that whatever or whosesoever figures are fol- 
lowed there will be errors. It is perhaps safe 
to say that not over twenty-five per cent, of the 
total population are able to read and write. 

The government has issued a volume which 
gives the figures of school enrolment of the 
various states, which is the first attempt on the 
part of the federal government to give educa- 

214 



Education and the Arts 215 



tional statistics. In a few of the states, so the 
official report says, the estimates of school en- 
rolment are not complete, since it was impos- 
sible to secure complete returns from some of 
the rural districts, but in the main they may 
serve to give a fairly adequate idea of the edu- 
cational facilities in the republic; at any rate, 
they are the best figures that are obtainable. 
The figures include all schools, whether of pub- 
lic or private character, state or municipal. 
The total number of primary schools reported 
is eleven thousand one hundred and forty-seven, 
of which one thousand eight hundred and fifteen 
are public municipal schools, seven thousand 
and eighty nine public schools under state con- 
trol, and mostly in the smaller towns and vil- 
lages, and two thousand two hundred and forty- 
five private schools, most of which are in the 
larger towns and cities. The state schools, 
which are improperly designated as rural 
schools, have an enrolment of three hundred 
and forty thousand six hundred and ninety- 
seven, and an attendance of two hundred and 
forty thousand six hundred and ninety. The 
municipal schools have an enrolment of one 
hundred and six thousand seven hundred and 
fifty-four, and an attendance of sixty-nine thou- 



216 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



sand four hundred and thirty-two. Private pri~ 
mary schools have an enrolment of one hundred 
and ten thousand eight hundred and forty-one, 
and an attendance of eighty-one thousand and 
sixty-six. Of the three hundred and twenty- 
seven secondary institutions twenty-nine are 
public and two hundred and ninety-eight under 
private control, the former having an enrol- 
ment of four thousand and the latter of twenty- 
six thousand two hundred and fifty-eight. No 
figures of the actual attendance at these insti- 
tutions were given, but it would probably not 
be much less than the enrolment. If these 
government figures are correct, and the pop- 
ulation is twenty million five hundred and fif- 
teen thousand as claimed, in that same report, 
then scarcely three per cent, of the population 
may be regarded as enjoying school privileges. 
This estimate takes on new significance when 
one considers that the proportion of rural pop- 
ulation is very high, as compared with the 
entire population, and shows how much less the 
facilities are in those sections. In the Federal 
District, for instance, which includes the city of 
Eio de Janeiro, and where the population is 
almost entirely urban, there is an estimated 
population of eight hundred and fifty-eight 



Education and the Arts 217 



thousand, and a school enrolment of sixty-one 
thousand nine hundred and thirty-three. In the 
state of Alagoas, on the other hand, with an 
almost equal population, and where it is alto- 
gether rural with the exception of a few coast 
towns, there is a school enrolment of only four- 
teen thousand and ninety-two. The state of 
Pernambuco, with only one town of any size, 
and that the capital, has a school enrolment of 
only twenty-two thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-two, in a reported population of one mil- 
lion three hundred and ten thousand. More 
comparisons might be made, but with these ex- 
planations the reader can figure them out from 
the table. 1 

The school instruction, except in the Federal 
District and the professional schools, is in the 
hands of the various states. In none of them 
does a compulsory educational law exist, and, 
if it did, the facilities do not exist to take care 
of those of school age who would thus be obliged 
to attend. As will be seen by the comparisons 
the provisions for instruction and the illiteracy 
vary much in the different states. Some of the 
states are richer than others, and can afford to 
spend more money for public requirements, and 

1 See appendix. 



218 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



others are naturally more progressive. All of 
the schools in the various states are modelled 
on the same general plan. I have chosen those 
of Sao Paulo for illustration, because that state 
has made better progress along educational 
lines than the others, and because I made a 
special study of the school system of that 
state. 

The schools are divided into three classes: 
primary, secondary and superior. The primary 
schools are again divided into preliminary and 
complementary instruction. The preliminary 
instruction is given in ungraded schools, and 
the law requires the establishment of an un- 
graded school in every community where there 
are from twenty to forty pupils of school age, 
although this has not always been done. Where 
there are six or more of these schools, a " school 
group " may be established, in which teaching 
is graded. In this state there are about eighty 
of these school groups. In addition there are 
a number of night schools where similar instruc- 
tion is given to those who are unable to attend 
the day schools, or who have passed the school 
age and lacked the opportunity for an educa- 
tion in their, youthful days. Of these there are 
thirty-four in the state at the present time. A 



Education and the Arts 219 



few free kindergarten schools are also main- 
tained in the capital, but this feature of instruc- 
tion has not been developed much as yet. 

The secondary instruction is given in what 
are termed gymnasiums. All of these schools, 
whether public or private, in order to be rec- 
ognized over the country, must conform to the 
regulations laid down by the National Gym- 
nasium at Rio de Janeiro. They must observe 
the programmes and courses of study laid down 
by that institution, and the student in one of 
these gymnasiums is given the degree of bach- 
elor of letters, or science, after a course of 
study covering six years. In the state of Sao 
Paulo, there are three of these schools: one 
in Sao Paulo, one in Campinas and one in 
Eiberao Preto. The course of study is about 
equal to that of the average high school in the 
United States, and prepares the student to 
matriculate in the schools for superior instruc- 
tion. The so-called superior schools are those 
devoted to technical and professional education. 
For superior instruction there are in this state 
two institutions : the Law School and the Poly- 
technic School, of which the former is a federal 
institution, and has graduated some of the 
brightest lawyers and statesmen of the repub- 



220 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



lie. The Polytechnic School is devoted, as its 
name indicates, to the teaching of the practical 
sciences, and is fitted with the necessary appa- 
ratus for such instruction. The school year in 
the public schools is generally from the first of 
February, or March, to the end of the follow- 
ing November, but the professional schools 
do not begin as a rule until the first of April. 
A model school, the Braz Grwpo, is main- 
tained in Sao Paulo, which is used as the name 
would indicate, as an example for the other 
schools. 

One school of which this state is very proud 
is the Normal School, which has departments 
for all grades from the kindergarten up. Its 
primary object is to prepare teachers for the 
work in the other schools, and in this respect 
it is doing an admirable work. As its accom- 
modation is limited the students are only ad- 
mitted upon special recommendation, and it is 
sometimes difficult for a boy or girl to secure 
admittance, as it is always full. The normal 
course extends over a period of four years, and 
covers a wide range of subjects. It is fitted up 
with a good library, a chemical laboratory, gym- 
nasium, modelling rooms and apparatus for 
manual work. It has turned out several hun- 



Education and the Arts 221 



dred graduates, of whom the proportion of 
women exceeds that of men in about the same 
proportion as they do in our own land. 

The director of public instruction in this 
state is a progressive man, and is making many 
improvements in the work. He made a trip to 
the United States in order to study the system 
there, and brought back a great many practical 
ideas. He is arranging the courses of study 
and method of instruction in the schools of this 
state after the system in use in the United 
States. It cannot be done all at once as there 
are certain prejudices in the minds of some that 
must first be overcome. This process has been 
in operation for several years, and one can see 
the good results. The building was originally 
planned by an American lady teacher, who was 
brought down for that purpose. The only two 
modern languages taught, except the Portu- 
guese, are French and English. This is a com- 
pliment to our tongue to have it chosen in pref- 
erence to the German and Spanish, as is gen- 
erally the rule. Their method of teaching the 
English is very practical too. This means that 
in the course of a few years the English lan- 
guage will be much more common than it is 
to-day. I found that the people were anxious 



222 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



to learn English, and those who did know it 
were proud of the accomplishment. Formerly 
they desired to know only French, in addition 
to Portuguese, for that was the polite language ; 
but, as commerce has developed, the desire to 
know English has increased in proportion, until 
now all those who are able to go to the higher 
institutions of learning are taking up the study 
of English. 

There are a number of other institutions of 
learning in this state, most of them under the 
auspices of the various Eoman Catholic orders. 
Some of these schools are of a very high order 
and are doing their share in the work of raising 
the standard of education. One of the best of 
their institutions is a large convent school for 
the education of girls. The most important 
non-Catholic institution is the Mackenzie Col- 
lege, which was founded by Presbyterian mis- 
sionaries, but is now undenominational. At its 
head is the venerable Dr. Horace M. Lane, a 
scholarly and able man, whom I am glad to 
enrol as a friend. Dr. Lane first came to Brazil 
in 1857 as a physician, and has lived there con- 
tinuously since that time, except for a period 
of fourteen years, during which he practised 
medicine in the United States. When the col- 



Education and the Arts 223 



lege was endowed with $50,000 by John T. 
Mackenzie, of New York, whose name it now 
bears, Dr. Lane was chosen president and has 
remained at the head ever since. The will of 
the above benefactor left the college a large 
additional sum of money. Dr. Lane under- 
stands the Brazilians as few Americans do. 
He is a very kindly and generous critic, and 
frankly tells them their faults without flattery. 
His candour and frankness have won him 
friends and the respect of all, and even of the 
Catholic clergy. Mackenzie College is unique 
in that it has never asked recognition of the 
government, but is affiliated with the University 
of the State of New York. This institution has 
been in existence a number of years, and its 
instructors have had the pleasure of seeing 
many of its graduates reach positions of the 
greatest importance, both at home and abroad. 
The resident foreigners send their children 
there, and the Brazilians do likewise. A gradu- 
ate of Mackenzie College has a recognized stand- 
ing all over the republic even though it has not 
asked for government recognition, and placed 
itself under the necessity of maintaining an 
official inspector on its pay roll. 

The Granberry College, at Juiz de Fora, 



224 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



in the state of Minas Geraes, is another pro- 
gressive North American college, under the aus- 
pices of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, 
that is making a reputation in Brazil. I had 
the privilege of attending the commencement 
exercises at this college, in company with the 
American Ambassador and his military attache. 
The festa exercises, as they term it in Brazil, 
were attended by a very large audience. Eep- 
resentative citizens of the community, includ- 
ing the mayor of the city and the president of 
the Camara, which is a sort of county council, 
were present on the platform. This shows a 
truly liberal spirit, for perhaps only a very 
small proportion of the audience were other 
than Eoman Catholics. This school maintains, 
in addition to the regular academic courses, 
schools of pharmacy, dentistry and theology. 
Their schools of pharmacy and dentistry are 
among the very best in the republic. A gov- 
ernment military instructor is also kept to drill 
the boys and young men in military tactics, 
much the same as in the colleges of our own 
land. I was surprised to find a number of 
young women taking, up the study of pharmacy 
and dentistry, for it seemed a wide departure 
in this land of conservativeness and tradition, 



Education and the Arts 225 



which has heretofore denied to woman that 
larger field granted to the sex in Anglo-Saxon 
countries. The generous spirit and encourage- 
ment shown to these institutions, conducted by 
aliens and Protestants, and the wider field 
granted to women, are good omens, I believe, 
for the future of the land. 

A number of states have established agri- 
cultural schools, which promise much for the 
future. The best one of these schools is the 
Escola Agricola, at Piracicaba, which is main- 
tained by the state of Sao Paulo. The site for 
this college was presented to the state by one 
of its progressive citizens. The Secretary of 
Agriculture of that state travelled widely 
throughout the United States and Europe, 
studying places and methods, and finally de- 
cided to establish the school on the American 
system. He then engaged Dr. Clinton D. Smith, 
an American, who had been at the head of a 
prominent agricultural college in the United 
States, to take charge of the work. The faculty 
also include two Frenchmen, one Belgian, one 
Bulgarian, one Portuguese and a number of 
Brazilians, making quite a cosmopolitan board 
of instructors. 

The institution is housed in a large, beautiful 



226 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



building, and its equipment is equal to our own 
best institutions. The student is instructed in 
the analysis of soils, and the introduction of 
modern machinery for their cultivation; in 
botany, and a good course in stock raising ; and 
in physics, even to measuring the force of a 
waterfall, or winding a dynamo. There is also 
a course in physiology, hygiene and medicine 
for emergencies, as well as much-needed in- 
struction in political economy. The most prac- 
tical feature is the actual work on the farm 
which every student is obliged to do. He must 
work for two hours each day in the actual occu- 
pation of handling a plow, rigging a harrow, 
managing a mower or reaper, and learn how to 
repair any of the common machines on the plan- 
tation. Students from a number of states 
attend the school, and many of them are sons 
of wealthy Brazilians. As the able director 
told me : " It is a good and much-needed train- 
ing for a set of boys born where slavery was 
in existence, and in a land where to work with 
the hands is a sign of inferiority. The hope of 
the college is to exert a fundamental influence 
on agriculture, where monoculture is the rule 
and poly culture ought to be." It will do more 
than that, for such instruction will have an 



Education and the Arts 227 



important bearing in developing the character 
of these young men as well. 

Portuguese writers are prolific. Few coun- 
tries have produced more literature, compared 
with the number who speak the language, than 
Portugal and Brazil. The Portuguese language 
is especially rich in expression, and is said to 
be the nearest to the classic Latin of any living 
dialect. It lends itself easily to poetic expres- 
sion, and there have been many poets. The 
Brazilians are fond of elaborate and flowery 
expressions, and this verboseness and ornate 
form of expression runs through their litera- 
ture and public speaking. At the commence- 
ment exercises mentioned above the addresses 
of some of the graduates were most elaborate. 
Where an American graduate would have 
started out with i ' Ladies and Gentlemen, ' ' and 
perhaps have added " our dear professors and 
honourable trustees," the Brazilian youth took 
several minutes to make his introductory re- 
marks, and pass around his compliments to the 
professors and other dignitaries who were on 
the stage. No one was omitted in the general 
round of compliments. Impromptu poems 
spring up on every and all occasions, and the 
recent visit of a high state official of the United 



228 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



States prompted more than one poetic effusion, 
many of which were fortunately suppressed by 
the committees in charge of the festivities. 

Brazil has produced a number of eminent 
writers. The best known, and perhaps most 
widely loved of all, is Goncalves Diaz, who has 
been called the Longfellow of Brazil. He died 
nearly a half century ago, but his memory has 
been honoured by monuments and streets 
named in his honour, and his name has been 
kept green by continuous quotations from his 
writings. The " Song of the Exile,' ' written 
by him, has been called the " Home, Sweet 
Home " of the Brazilians, and is said to be 
quoted more than any other poem in the lan- 
guage. Says Mrs. Wright : 1 " No translation 
has ever been made which in any sense reveals 
the exquisite delicacy of touch in the original, 
or its plaintive rhythmic melody, though many 
attempts have been made to put it into English 
and other languages. Throughout the six 
stanzas of which it is composed, the little poem 
voices a heart cry of homesickness. After re- 
counting, with childlike simplicity, the charm of 
his native land, its palm trees, and the sweet- 
voiced Sabia, the favourite songbird of Brazil, 

1 " The New Brazil, ' ' by Marie Robinson Wright. 



Education and the Arts 229 



he prays with touching pathos to be spared to 
return, that he may once more see its glorious 
palms and hear the Sabia sing." Diaz had re- 
ceived a good education in Portugal, and 
became a professor of history in the college at 
Rio. Many of his poems have a historic basis 
and deal with events of history. He served on 
several government commissions, among which 
was a trip up the Amazon with a scientific com- 
mission. On this trip his health was ruined, 
and from that time he was an invalid to the time 
of his death. On his return from a trip to 
Europe his vessel was shipwrecked, and his 
remains went to a watery grave, at the early 
age of forty. 

There have been many other and excellent 
writers, both of fiction and poetry, in the past 
century, but few of them are known to the Eng- 
lish-speaking world, as translations have not 
been made. Some excellent histories have been 
written also, which have been fostered and pre- 
served by the Brazilian Historical and Geo- 
graphical Institute. Dr. Machado de Assis is 
one of the most distinguished living writers, 
who has written both poetry and fiction. Dr. 
Olavo Bilac has also written many beautiful 
poems, and is one of the best-known writers and 



230 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



orators of the day. I had the pleasure of meet- 
ing him, and listening to an address by him, and 
it was a very pleasing address, distinguished 
for its purity of style. Dr. Euy Barbosa, prom- 
inent also in political circles, has been a prolific 
writer in many lines. There is scarcely an im- 
portant subject that his pen has not touched 
upon, from fiction to the intricate problem of 
international law. Baron de Eio Branco, a 
member for many years of the official cabinet, 
and Dr. Joaquim Nabuco, late Ambassador to 
the United States, who died a few months ago 
in Washington, are also writers of considerable 
merit. 

The press of Brazil is a strong factor in the 
literature of the country, as well as in the poli- 
tics. Nearly every politician is a writer, and, 
conversely, nearly every writer is more or less 
of a politician. Speeches are published in full, 
and politics and literature fill a large part of 
the space in the average Brazilian newspaper. 
The first newspaper established in Brazil was 
the Gazeta do Rio, in the year 1808, and other 
newspapers followed soon after in many other 
cities. The oldest paper in the capital, as well 
as the most influential one to-day, is the Jornal 
do Comercio, originally established as the Spec- 



Education and the Arts 231 



tator, in 1824. Its contributors have included 
all the leading politicians and writers since that 
time. It is a large and well-printed newspaper 
of many pages, and is well edited. Paiz, 
Correio da Manha, Jomal do Brazil, Gazeta de 
Noticias, Diario do Commercio, Diario de Noti- 
cias, A Noticia, Seculo, Correio da Noite and 
A Tribuna are the other leading daily news- 
papers in the city to-day. Malho and Revista 
da Semana are weekly reviews, while Tico- 
Tico and Fon-Fon are illustrated comics. Sao 
Paulo, the second city, has a dozen daily news- 
papers, more than the average city of the 
United States of the same size. Estado de 
Sao Paulo and the Correio Paulistina are the 
leading and most influential ones. The Bra- 
zilian Review, a weekly journal, is the only 
English periodical published in the country, 
but there are several German and Italian pub- 
lications. There are also a number of class 
publications and trade journals, and nearly 
every town and city has a local daily or weekly 
publication. 

The artistic sense is one of the essential ele- 
ments of the Latin character. It has perhaps 
reached its highest development with the Ital- 
ian race, but the Spaniards and the Portuguese 



232 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



also have this talent well developed. The 
traveller throughout Latin America can not 
fail to be impressed by the transplanted art 
that he finds everywhere in evidence. In Mex- 
ico, Central America and Peru he will find the 
original sense tinged with the Indian influence 
of the ancient races, who developed an archi- 
tectural style of their own. Along the Atlantic 
coast of South America this element is lacking, 
because the Indians of that coast had not 
reached an advanced civilization, and lived in 
the crudest way. Hence the architecture of 
Brazil corresponds more nearly to the estab- 
lished schools that one will find in Latin 
Europe. 

The Latin Americans strive for beauty, and, 
for myself, I must say that in general I admire 
their style. Some of their buildings would not 
appear well in a cold climate, but in design and 
decoration they are well adapted to the country. 
The government buildings, the plazas, the nu- 
merous statues, all have lines of beauty that 
please the eye. In small towns far from the 
railway one will oftentimes stumble upon a 
church, a convent or some other building of 
real artistic beauty and design. These build- 
ings in a sense satisfy the artistic hunger of 



Education and the Arts 233 



the race, and they are the objects to which every 
resident points with pride. 

The nmnicipal theatre is one of these build- 
ings that one will find in all the larger cities, 
where social life has attained anything of a 
metropolitan development, and even in smaller 
towns, where that stage has not been reached. 
It is constructed with the same care and regard 
for artistic proportions as the municipal build- 
ing or the governmental palace, and, in many 
instances, with even more taste. The teatro 
municipal, as it is always named, is almost 
invariably built in an open place, where the 
view is unobstructed, while many of the public 
edifices are crowded up to the street line, and 
often hemmed in between surrounding build- 
ings. Frequently it is exposed on all four sides, 
and an effort is made to give it an artistic ap- 
pearance from whatever angle it is viewed, 
instead of limiting the artistic touches to the 
facade. Public money has been used for the 
construction of these buildings, and money 
from the same source, either municipal or 
national, is used to provide for the presenta- 
tion of the drama or opera. It is only in this 
way that the best Italian, French, Portuguese 
and Spanish artists could ever be brought to 



234 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Latin America, for the box receipts alone would 
not prove profitable. No one dreams of object- 
ing to the use of the public money in this way, 
for the idea is inbred, and in accordance with 
the traditions of the race. This idea of prac- 
tically subsidizing things artistic sounds 
strange to Anglo-Saxon ears, but among the 
Latins it is considered a proper function of 
government. 

There are many beautiful opera houses in 
Brazil. At Manaos, a thousand miles up the 
Amazon, in a city surrounded on all sides by 
almost impenetrable forests, stands the Ama- 
zonas Theatre, a structure finished in white 
marble and richly decorated with allegorical 
paintings, the cost of which exceeded a million 
dollars in gold. In Para, near the mouth of the 
same stream, is the La Paz Theatre, built by 
the state government, and which is a beautiful 
structure. Pernambuco, Bahia and many other 
cities have creditable theatres, but the teatro 
municipal of Kio de Janeiro, and the one at 
Sao Paulo, are the finest examples in Brazil, 
and perhaps in all of South America. The 
municipal theatre in Sao Paulo has not been 
entirely completed, although it has been in 
course of construction for several years. The 



Education and the Arts 235 



interior and exterior are both richly decorated, 
the exterior with statues and allegorical de- 
signs, the interior with paintings. The musi- 
cians' stand is below the level of the orchestra 
seats in accordance with the Wagner system. 
The total cost will be about two million dollars 
in gold. The municipal theatre of Rio with its 
marble front, bronze decorations and beautiful 
dome one hundred and forty-seven and one-half 
feet high, which gives a crown effect, is the 
handsomest public building in that capital, and 
cost considerably more than the one at Sao 
Paulo. These municipal theatres are some- 
times rented for other public functions, but in 
general the dignity and character of the enter- 
tainments is preserved. 



CHAPTER XII 



RAILWAYS AND THEIE DEVELOPMENT 

Brazil has an excellent system of fluvial 
waterways throughout the Amazon district, 
where this great river and its many affluents 
give access to nearly every part of that basin. 
Upon these streams boats are run at regular 
or irregular intervals, which make connections 
with the regular lines on the Amazon running 
to Para. The Amazon Steamship Company 
maintains forty small vessels on the Amazon 
and its tributaries, and there are other smaller 
companies operating in the same waters. Reg- 
ular lines of steamers ply to the United States 
and Europe from Iquitos, Manaos and Para. 
It will never be necessary, perhaps, to construct 
railroads through this richly watered country, 
except where rapids obstruct navigation, for 
railroad construction is difficult and the cost of 
transportation would necessarily be much more 
expensive. Coast lines run from Para as far 
down as Rio de Janeiro, a journey of ten days 

236 



Railways and Their Development 237 



to two weeks, including the various stops that 
are usually made. From Eio there are many 
lines that touch at Santos, and two Brazilian 
lines that run down as far as Eio Grande do 
Sul, the southernmost port. There is also com- 
munication by steamer from Eio up the Plata, 
Paraguay and Parana Eivers to Cuyaba, cap- 
ital of the state of Matto Grosso. In all there 
are several hundred vessels flying the Brazil- 
ian flag and operating either along the coast or 
on the rivers of the republic. 

In the matter of railway communication there 
is very much to be desired still. There are in 
the entire republic to-day about twelve thou- 
sand miles of railway in operation. These lines 
are being extended at the rate of a few hundred 
miles each year. For the year 1909 the increase 
in mileage amounted to about six hundred 
miles. These extensions are being pushed out 
by a number of different lines into regions 
hitherto untouched by railway communication. 
These new lines have nearly all had a certain 
return, generally six per cent., guaranteed upon 
the capital invested by the federal or state gov- 
ernments. It speaks well for the condition of 
the country when one finds that many of these 
guarantees have never been called upon, for, 



238 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



almost from the very start, the traffic received 
has paid the running expenses, and even greater 
returns than those guaranteed to the com- 
pany. 

The great need of the country is a longitu- 
dinal railway, so that there will be continuous 
communication between Para, at one extreme, 
and Eio Grande do Sul, at the other. In this 
respect better progress has been made in south- 
ern Brazil than in the northern part. It will 
not be many months, after this book is issued, 
until there will be an all rail route from Eio 
Grande do Sul to Eio de Janeiro, and from 
there for a considerable distance up into the 
state of Minas Geraes. This does not cover 
more than half of the distance, however, and 
it will be necessary to construct many hundreds 
of kilometres of the parallel iron rails before 
the project reaches completion. Para, Camo- 
cim, Fortaleza, Pernambuco, Bahia, and other 
ports, have railroads which run inland for a 
greater or less distance, but are not connected 
up with the other systems. This makes it nec- 
essary for the passenger to take ship in going 
from one port to another, and for freight to 
be loaded upon steamers in order to reach the 
other than local markets of the country. 



Railways and Their Development 239 



The local freight rates are so high, too, that 
it is often cheaper to ship freight from a Euro- 
pean port to the capital, for instance, than to 
ship the same amount of freight from another 
part of the republic. This excessive charge for 
railway haul is a short-sighted policy, and does 
not tend to build up a local interchange between 
the different sections of the country. On the 
government railroad, the Central, the freight 
rates are so high between Sao Paulo and Rio de 
Janeiro, a distance of only three hundred miles, 
that it is cheaper to ship goods from the former 
city to Santos at high rates, transship them to 
a steamer, and pay port dues as well as loading 
and unloading charges at each end, than to for- 
ward over the railroad. It is a condition that 
the government could and should regulate, and 
it has been talked about many times ; but, like 
many political projects, it has ended in talk. 
At the present time a commission has this mat- 
ter in charge, and it remains to be seen what 
they will do. 

What might be called the backbone of the 
railroad system of Brazil is the Estrado de 
Ferro Central do Brazil. This is one of the 
oldest lines in the country. There were about 
forty miles of it open to traffic as early as 1858. 



240 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



It was formerly known as the Dom Pedro II 
Railway, in honour of the Emperor, but upon 
the establishment of the republic the name was 
changed to the Central. The construction was 
first undertaken by an American company, but 
it was later taken over by the Imperial Govern- 
ment and completed by them to the city of Sao 
Paulo. The development and extension of the 
line has been almost continuous, until at the 
present time more than one thousand miles are 
in operation by this government railroad. The 
most of the track is of standard gauge, the 
same as the American lines, although a part of 
it is of the narrow gauge, one metre in width. 
The main line runs to Sao Paulo, and that is an 
important line, for it is the only railroad run- 
ning to the important states of the south. The 
train service is good, and it pleases one to see 
American locomotives at the head of nearly all 
the trains, and many of the cars were built in 
American shops. The passenger coaches on all 
the Brazilian lines open at the end after the 
American plan, but the freight cars are built 
after the English models. 

An important branch of this system is that 
which runs through Juiz de Fora, and to and 
beyond Bello Horizonte, in the State of Minas. 



Railways and Their Development 241 



This line passes through an important and well- 
settled section of the country, and is bringing 
the towns and rich valleys of that great state 
into direct communication with the capital. 
The upper part of this branch is narrow gauge, 
and it is being pushed northward to tap the rich 
mineral section of the state, where it is said 
that there are great quantities of manganese 
and other minerals awaiting development. An- 
other branch is reaching out toward Diaman- 
tina, the famous diamond centre in Brazil. It 
seems to me that the government can not do 
better for itself, or for the people, than to spend 
just as much money as is possible in the devel- 
opment of these railway lines, for the land is 
already settled by a great many people, and 
easy communication will aid in inducing new 
settlers to locate there. Furthermore, railway 
communication is one of the best means in the 
world to unite the different sections of the coun- 
try, and develop a national as well as patriotic 
spirit. The people of the states will feel that 
they have something in common, and inter- 
change of traffic will also bring about a better 
acquaintance among the citizens of the various 
states. The operation of the Central Railroad 
has not been very successful from a financial 



242 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



standpoint, as too many sinecures have been 
created for political favourites. The cost of 
operation has always been excessive. 

The Paulista Bailway was the first railroad 
to be constructed entirely of Brazilian capital. 
Its tracks begin at Jundiahy, although its trains 
are run into the city of Sao Paulo. The propo- 
sition for this railroad was first offered to 
British capital, but they turned down what 
proved to be a veritable gold mine. The first 
work on this line was begun in 1870, and its 
tracks have been gradually extended until now 
it operates about seven hundred miles of road, 
about one-third of which is standard and the 
balance metre gauge. It reaches to Bebedouroa 
and Pontat, with branches to Jahu and other 
points. By the original contract the govern- 
ment guaranteed seven per cent, on the invest- 
ment required, but this guarantee was later 
released by the company in return for some 
other favours. It has the right to raise tariffs 
in order to keep the investment on a seven per 
cent, basis, but the present high freight rates 
. yield returns far in excess of that. One part 
1 of the concession of this road is a privileged 

zone of nearly twenty miles on each side, within 
which district it has the exclusive right of both 



Railways and Their Development 243 



passenger and freight traffic. It reaches up into 
the terra roxa, the red earth where the blood- 
red soil dyes everything its own colour. This 
is the coffee land, the great freight producer for 
this line. In one year, 1906, this line carried 
nearly ten million bags of coffee, each bag 
weighing about one hundred and thirty-two 
pounds, besides all the other miscellaneous 
freight. 

The Mogyana Railway is another narrow 
gauge railroad which starts at Campinas, and 
runs in a northerly direction up through the 
coffee country. It was started shortly after the 
Paulista Railway, and upon practically the 
same guaranty of the investment, and the same 
rights to exclusive territory. Branches have 
been built for feeders, and the main line has 
been extended, until now this company has a 
mileage of more than eight hundred miles. The 
road was evidently built by the kilometre, and 
the contractors got in as many kilometres be- 
tween given points as possible. Beautiful 
curves abound everywhere, and it would be 
difficult to find a straight half-mile of track 
between Campinas and Riberao Preto, a dis- 
tance of about two hundred miles. The line is 
well built and is now being ballasted. A few 



244 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



sections have been straightened out, but it con- 
tains dozens of unnecessary and nerve-racking 
curves. This railway is also a great freight 
producer, especially for coffee. It has paid div- 
idends of twelve per cent, for several years, 
and could probably have paid more except for 
charter restrictions. The furthermost point 
now reached by this railroad is Araguary, in 
the state of Minas Geraes. From Araguary 
this company has in contemplation the exten- 
sion of its line to Goyaz, in the state of Goyaz. 
For the good of the country it is to be hoped 
that this project will be carried out in the near 
future. 

Goyaz is as large as France, Belgium, Hol- 
land and England combined, is very similar in 
topography to Minas Geraes, and also contains 
considerable mineral wealth. Politically it is 
in the centre of the republic. The maps show 
a great square block in this state which is 
marked " site for the future capital of Brazil.' ' 
It will be many years, however, before this proj- 
ect will be realized, and not until railroads are 
constructed, for at the present time there is not 
a mile of railroad track in the state. The site 
is a delightful one among the mountains. There 
are splendid natural resources in Goyaz, but the 



Railways and Their Development 245 



population scarcely exceeds one to the square 
mile. The river Maranhao traverses the state, 
almost from one end to the other, and it is 
navigable by small vessels for hundreds of 
miles within the state. The Araguaya marks 
the western boundary, and is also navigable for 
a long distance. Both of these rivers are af- 
fluents of the Tocantins, which pours its waters 
into the Amazon flood. 

The Sorocabana Eailway system is an impor- 
tant line in this section of the state and prom- 
ises much for its future development, as it is 
pushing extensions in several directions. It is 
now operated by an American corporation 
made up of Canadian, American and English 
capitalists. The main line begins at Sao Paulo, 
and then branches out in several different direc- * 
tions, northwest, west and southwest, and will 
eventually be the connecting link between the 
trunk lines to the western and southern states. 
It is thus destined to be one of the greatest 
railroad systems in the republic. The Soroca- 
bana is also a narrow gauge railway. It has a 
government guarantee of six and seven per 
cent., and a privileged zone on each side gives 
it a local monopoly. This company took the 
lines over from the state government of Sao 



246 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Paulo, and they have obtained a number of 
valuable privileges. 

The Sorocabana Railway Company now oper- 
ates about seven hundred miles of railroad. 
One branch has its terminus at Jundiahy, and 
from there runs through the important city of 
Piracicaba. From Jundiahy to Piracicaba it 
passes through a great deal of undeveloped 
country, but at the latter place it reaches one 
of the prettiest sections I have seen in Brazil. 
As far as the eye can reach the eye falls upon 
cultivated fields of coffee, sugar cane, corn, 
fruit, etc. In the distance the horizon is every- 
where bounded by the hills, which seem to form 
a frame for the picture. The city itself is clean 
and attractive, with wide streets, and beautiful 
plazas. It is situated on a knoll with all the 
streets slightly sloping down, so that in the dis- 
tance one can see the green fields and boundary 
of mountains. It has a good sugar factory, 
owned by a French syndicate, a cotton mill and 
other industries. The finest sight is the falls 
on the Piracicaba River, which are within the 
city itself. These falls are beautiful and fur- 
nish thousands of horse power, only a portion 
of which is now utilized. 



Railways and Their Development 247 



The main line extends from Sao Paulo to 
Bauru, a distance of three hundred miles, and 
passes through some rich coffee lands which are 
now being developed. 

At Bauru the Sorocabana connects with the 
Nord Oeste do Brazil (Northwestern), which is 
a projected line to run across the immense state 
of Matto Gtosso and into Bolivia. The project- 
ors believe that this line will eventually be a 
part of the proposed Pan American railroad. 
Construction has been completed up to Itapura, 
on the Tiete River near its junction with the 
Alta Parana, and trains are now running to 
that village. The most of the line after Bauru 
follows the general course of the Tiete River, 
and passes through an entirely undeveloped 
country, much of which is forest land where 
large quantities of fine hardwood timber are 
found. This is the first railroad to touch the 
borders of the great undeveloped state of 
Matto Grosso, and it means much for that state. 
At Miranda, a hundred miles or more of grade 
has been completed, and work is being pushed 
from that town toward Itapura. Materials and 
supplies are sent up through the Rio de la Plata 
and its connections. Many hundreds of miles 



248 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of this projected trunk line have not yet been 
touched, although preliminary surveys have 
been made over the entire distance. 

To the southwest the Sorocabana Eailway 
passes through rich coffee and cotton lands to 
Itarare. Here it connects with the Sao Paulo- 
Bio Grande Railway, which is also one of the 
important links in the lines connecting up the 
Southern states, Uruguay and Argentina. 
From Itarare the Sao Paulo-Bio Grande Bail- 
way runs in a southerly direction through 
Ponta Grossa, to the banks of the Uruguay 
Biver, where it will connect with the Santa 
Maria and Uruguay Bailway. It already has 
in operation over four hundred miles. Only 
a couple of hundred miles are uncompleted to 
make a continuous line, with the various con- 
nections, from Bio de Janeiro to Bio Grande 
do Sul, and Montevideo, Uruguay. The char- 
ter of this company also involves the build- 
ing of a railroad from the port of Sao Fran- 
cisco at right angles to and crossing the 
main line, following the Iguassii Biver to where 
it empties into the Alta Parana. The con- 
cession of this line gives it all the unoccupied 
lands on either side for six miles, with the obli- 
gation to settle the same within fifty years. 



Railways and Their Development 249 



This was done by the government to induce the 
railroad company to encourage immigration, 
and populate the country. The company also 
agrees to settle one block of land with immi- 
grants for each one hundred kilometres of 
track, each block to contain one hundred lots 
suitable for agriculture or cattle raising, within 
two years after the approval of each completed 
section. 

The Santa Maria and Uruguay Railway runs 
at present from near Passo Fundo, south 
through Cruz Alta to Santa Maria, where it 
connects with the line which crosses the state 
of Rio Grande do Sul, from the prosperous port 
of Porto Alegre to Uruguayana, on the Uru- 
guay River, the boundary line with Argentina, 
and there connects with the lines of that re- 
public. This railroad passes through a rich 
country, and along its line many colonies have 
been established which have become very pros- 
perous. The climate of this state is cooler, and 
resembles that of large sections of the United 
States. At Cacequy there is a branch to the 
city of Bage, where numerous xarqueados are 
established, and from there runs to Pelotas and 
the city of Rio Grande. From near Bage, also, 
a branch is being extended toward the borders 



250 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of Uruguay, and probably before this book ap- 
pears there will be continuous communication 
by this route with Montevideo, the capital of 
that republic. 

From Montevideo it is but a few hours ride 
by comfortable steamer to Buenos Aires, where 
connection is made with the extensive railway 
systems of that republic. By way of the Buenos 
Aires al Pacifico and Transandine lines 
through rail communication now exists to Val- 
paraiso and Santiago, Chile, and the rich " Val- 
ley of Paradise," south of the latter city. In 
a year or two also it will be possible to go by 
rail from Buenos Aires, via the Central Argen- 
tina and the government lines, up -to La Paz, 
the capital of Bolivia. The Peruvian govern- 
ment has also a project for a railroad across 
the Andes from Lima to La Paz, although this 
is far from being realized as yet. It simply 
gives an idea of the railway development that 
has taken place, and what is projected for the 
future. 

North of Rio de Janeiro there has not been 
so much or so systematic railway development, 
as there has been south of the federal capital. 
The principal company operating in that direc- 
tion, the Leopoldina Eailway, is also the com- 



Railways and Their Development 251 



pany having the greatest mileage of any road in 
the republic Its lines traverse the states of 
Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and Minas 
Geraes, and have a total mileage of over eight- 
een hundred miles. This system has been made 
up by the consolidation of a number of different 
lines. Hitherto it has not been able to run its 
track into the city of Rio de Janeiro, because 
of the opposition of the Central, which road 
claimed a monopoly. Its terminals have been 
at Nictheroy across the bay, and at Maua. At 
last the right was granted, a depot constructed, 
and, by this time, the trains of the Leopoldina 
Railway will be running into the capital city. 
They promise service from that city to Petrop- 
olis in a little over an hour, instead of two hours 
by the present combination of rail and boat. 
This line taps rich coffee and sugar lands, 
reaches back into the mineral section of Minas 
Geraes, and passes near lands where fine tim- 
bers, such as rosewood, abound. It also con- 
nects with the port of Victoria, which is des- 
tined to be an important port for the products 
of this district. One of the lines is gradually 
being pushed up toward Bahia, and will event- 
ually connect with the lines of that state, of 
which there are three or four spurs that spread 



252 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



inland in different directions from the city of 
Bahia. 

The state of Espirito Santo (Holy Spirit) 
tapped by the Leopoldina system, stretches 
along the Atlantic coast for nearly three hun- 
dred miles. With an area of twenty thousand 
square miles it has a population of less than 
twelve to the square mile. It is a tropical state 
with much rain and dense vegetation along the 
coast lowlands. The capital city, Victoria, has 
a good harbour which is now being improved 
by the national government. In coffee ship- 
ments this port ranks third in importance. A 
railroad is also being constructed from Victoria 
to Diamantina, but progress up to date has been 
rather slow. 

The next largest system in northern Brazil 
is the Great Western Railway, whose lines run 
from Maceio, in the state of Alagoas, through 
Recife, or Pernambuco, capital of the state of 
that name, Parahyba, capital of the state of 
Parahyba, and ending at Natal, capital and 
chief seaport of the state of Rio Grande do 
Norte. A number of branches wind their tor- 
tuous way inland, and each year extensions are 
being made. The total length of the lines of 
this company now exceed nine hundred miles, 



Railways and Their Development 253 



upon all of which a government guarantee of at 
least six per cent, exists. These lines were 
formerly operated under several different 
names, but have recently been consolidated. 

In the state of Ceara there are two railways. 
One connects the port and capital city, Forta- 
leza, with Senador Pompeu, a couple of hundred 
miles inland; another line runs from the port 
of Camocim to the interior town of Ipu. A 
short railway connects Caxias, on the river 
Itapucuru, with Floris, on the Paranahyba 
Eiver. This is the only railway in the state 
of Maranhao, the sixth state in the republic and 
as large as Texas. Its natural resources have 
hardly been investigated, but they are no doubt 
very rich. St. Luiz is the capital and one of 
the ports. The adjoining state of Piauhy has 
no railroad. There is, however, excellent river 
communication with the seaports. A railway is 
projected from the port of Santo Luiz to run 
clown and connect with the line now running 
from Bahia north. From Belem, or Para, there 
is one short railroad that runs to Braganca, a 
distance of about one hundred miles. 

The Madeira-Mamore railroad is an isolated 
railroad, being built in the western part of 
Brazil by an American company under contract 



254 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



with the Brazilian government. One must go 
a thousand miles up the Amazon, and then six 
hundred and sixty miles up the Madeira Eiver 
to Santo Antonio de Bio Madeira, where this 
line begins, and which is in the very heart of 
South America. Above the rapids there are 
several hundred more miles of navigable 
waters, upon which a service of steamers is 
maintained. There are few people in that sec- 
tion of the country, and it may never be popular 
with immigrants. The line is being constructed 
in pursuance of an agreement with the Bepublic 
of Bolivia when the Acre (pronounced Ack'- 
ray) territory was ceded by that government to 
Brazil. The rich eastern slope and fertile 
plains of Bolivia are practically bottled up. 
Its products, including a large rubber and cacao 
production, either had to be transported over 
the Andes, or around a couple of hundred miles 
of rapids and cataracts on the Madeira Eiver, 
to the part of the stream where navigation is 
uninterrupted. From there they were carried 
down on steamers to Manaos, or Para, and then 
to the markets of the world by ocean-going ves- 
sels. This line will be about two hundred miles 
in length, and will open up one of the richest 
sections of Bolivia, a part of Peru, which also 



Railways and Their Development 255 



borders on the Acre territory, and the rich ter- 
ritory itself, which produces a large amount of 
rubber and cacao, and much of which has never 
been exploited at all. Many native Indians in- 
habit this section, and their little rafts and row 
boats^ navigate all the streams. In these the 
Indian rubber gatherers visit the different sec- 
tions, tap the trees, and bring the rubber to the 
establishments of the various companies en- 
gaged in the rubber trade, which may be found 
in many places. 

The first sod for this railway was turned in 
1871, but this auspicious beginning soon ended 
in disaster. Again, in 1878, a second attempt 
was made, and work was prosecuted faithfully 
for a year. A survey was cut through the al- 
most impenetrable forest, and four miles of 
track were completed. At that time, however, 
sanitation was not understood as well as now, 
and the great mortality stopped the work, as it 
did in Panama. This time a sensible beginning 
was made by first looking after the health con- 
ditions, and practically the same methods are 
employed as are followed by the United States 
on the Isthmus. Sanitary buildings were 
erected with provision made against infection 
from mosquito bites, and a fully equipped hos- 



256 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



pital was built and furnished. By these means 
the health of the twenty-five hundred employees 
has been looked after in a thoroughly scientific 
way. At the present writing about fifty miles 
of track have been completed, and a dozen en- 
gines are already at work. Forces of workmen 
are engaged in cutting down the forest, grading, 
laying track and rails, and all the other proc- 
esses incidental to building a railroad. Nature 
has not changed one iota, for malarial fever is 
still malarial fever, the rainfall is as great as 
ever, and vegetation is just as luxuriant; but 
science has taught man how to conquer nature, 
and it will not be many years until locomotives 
will be hauling freight and passengers around 
these falls in a few hours, where formerly it 
required weeks. Americans may take a pardon- 
able interest in this project, for it is American 
energy and American equipment that is doing 
the work. 

I have reserved for the last one of the most 
important, as well as one of the most interest- 
ing railroads in the world, the Sao Paulo Bail- 
way. This line is important, not from the 
amount of mileage, for it only runs from the 
port of Santos to Jundiahy, a distance of about 
one hundred miles, but because of the amount of 



Railways and Their Development 257 



freight shipped over it. It is the only railroad 
in the state of Sao Paulo running to the coast, 
and all the products of that state are shipped 
over it. Two-thirds or more of the world 's cof- 
fee is produced in Brazil, and of this three- 
fourths is shipped from this one port, and all 
of it hauled over this one road. As high as 
thirteen million sacks of coffee, weighing sixty 
kilograms each, have been shipped from this 
port in a single year. It has a monopoly of 
thirty-one kilometers on each side of the track. 
This restriction heretofore has prevented any 
other railroad from entering Santos, although 
both the Mogyana and the Sorocobana have sur- 
veyed routes and projected lines to it, because 
of the excessive freight rates charged. Both 
of the other roads are narrow gauge, and the 
expense of reloading for a short journey, and 
the rates demanded by this monopolistic line, 
are a big drain on the revenues of the other 
railroads. 

The Sao Paulo Bailway originally held a 
seven per cent, guarantee from the government, 
but this was long ago released. Its earnings 
have been so great in some years that the com- 
pany did not know what to do with the surplus. 
It was allowed to pay only twelve per cent, to 



258 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the stockholders, and the balance must either 
be paid to the state or the rates reduced. Un- 
willing to do either, this company has built fine 
stations where there are not more than a score 
of people, and has expended money in every 
way to keep down the net earnings under that 
sum. For six miles, soon after leaving Santos, 
the road climbs the Serra do Mar by means of 
cables. This is divided into four sections, each 
with its own power station. The trains are run 
in sections of three or four cars each, with an 
engine on each section. One section goes up as 
another comes down on each cable. A few years 
ago the traffic became so congested that it was 
necessary to construct a second roadway over 
the Serra, the one roadbed being considerably 
lower than the other. The mountainside is 
paved in some places to prevent landslides. 
Water courses and gullys of masonry and 
cement have been constructed everywhere to 
carry away the rain, which sometimes falls here 
with almost the force of a cloudburst. The road 
is well ballasted with a crushed stone found in 
the hills which is as hard as granite. The Luz 
station in the city of Sao Paulo, belonging to 
this company, is by far the finest station in 
South America, and one of the finest in the 



Railways and Their Development 259 



world. The railroad is owned by an English 
company, and the engines and equipment are 
distinctly English, and the entire track is built 
with the care and precision of an English rail- 
road, with an overhead bridge or tunnel at each 
station to pass from the station on one side of 
the track to that on the other. The road has 
only one little branch in addition to the main 
line. 



CHAPTER XIII 



COFFEE 

Beazil is not only the land where the nuts 
come from, but it is also the land where the 
world's coffee comes from as well. Two-thirds, 
and possibly three-fourths, of all the coffee used 
in the world is produced by this one great coun- 
try. It matters little whether your grocer la- 
bels your coffee Mocha, Java, or any other 
name, it is a pretty safe guess to say that it 
was raised in Brazil. Richer than gold have 
proven the stretches of red soil where this berry 
grows. This soil occurs at intervals from the 
state of Pernambuco south almost to Rio 
Grande do Sul, the southernmost state. Of 
Brazil's production three-fourths or more is 
grown in the state of Sao Paulo, thus making 
the production of this one state alone more than 
half of the world's production. Considering 
the enormous quantity of coffee consumed, this 
product and its cultivation in Brazil becomes 
of world-wide interest. 

260 



Coffee 



261 



The name coffee is derived from Kaffa, a 
town in Arabia, where it was first grown. Cof- 
fee began to be introduced into Europe in the 
fifteenth century, where coffee houses were es- 
tablished and soon became very popular. In 
Turkey and England they later came under 
royal displeasure; in the former country, be- 
cause the seduction of the beverage kept the 
people from the services of the mosque, and 
caused them to ignore the hours for prayer; 
in the latter, because the coffee houses were 
believed to be places of sedition, and disloyalty 
to the crown. In spite of royal displeasure and 
the restrictions of the government, however, the 
use of the coffee beverage continually grew, and 
the restrictive measures seemed to have little 
effect on its use. 

About the middle of the eighteenth century 
the cultivation was introduced into the Nevr 
World, in Guatemala, Mexico, the West Indies 
and Brazil. In the latter country it is said to 
have been introduced about 1761, by a deserter 
who came to that country and brought with him 
a few seeds. Its cultivation was, however, on 
a very small scale for a number of decades, but 
was gradually introduced into a number of 
states where it was found adapted to the soil. 



262 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



It was not until early in the nineteenth century 
that the cultivation of this plant on a large scale 
was begun at Campinas, and within a few years 
the production had reached an important figure. 
In the first year of that century it is said that 
two bags were sent to foreign markets from 
Brazil. A dozen years later the shipment of 
bags was numbered by the thousands, until, in 
1817, the exports are reported to have been in 
excess of sixty thousand bags. The state of Sao 
Paulo from the very first took the lead in pro- 
duction of coffee, as the soil of that state seemed 
especially adapted to its cultivation. In this 
state alone, at the present time, it is estimated 
that there are nearly seven hundred millions of 
trees, and the annual production will average 
more than ten million sacks, or one billion three 
hundred and twenty million pounds of this 
berry. These figures will not be materially 
altered for several years, because of the restric- 
tive legislation prohibiting the planting of new 
trees, which will be explained more in detail 
later. 

Successful cultivation of coffee, like that of 
almost any other valuable crop, requires certain 
conditions of soil and climate. These are a rich 
earth, a certain rarefication of air and plenty 



Coffee 



263 



of moisture. The terra roxa (red earth) of 
Brazil is very rich, and is the result of the 
decomposition of rocks of basaltic origin. The 
best lands are at an altitude of one thousand 
five hundred feet, or more, above sea level and 
require eighty inches or more of annual rain- 
fall. Furthermore, hilly lands with an eastern 
exposure are generally chosen. Although plan- 
tations are sometimes found on comparatively 
level ground. Too much or too little moisture, 
or a frost, will spoil a season's crop. A coffee 
field, with its trees laid out in regular rows 
stretching as far as the eye can see to the top 
of the hills in either direction, is a beautiful 
sight. In the foreground the rows of trees, with 
the roads at regular intervals and the contrast 
of green against the red soil, are plainly visible ; 
but, as distance increases, they blend together 
until the whole seems a field of living green, 
gently swaying in the breeze. Like a great 
panorama these fields spread out in every direc- 
tion in the neighbourhood of Eiberao Preto, the 
centre of the richest coffee district. 

Coffee trees are a matter of slow growth, 
requiring at least four years to mature after the 
young plants are set out. The seed is always 
planted in the woods, where patches are cleared 



264 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



for that purpose, and where the necessary 
shade and moisture are found. They are al- 
ways transplanted during the rainy season, 
when about eighteen months old and perhaps a 
foot high, and during this work the tender 
plants are handled very carefully. In many 
countries the young trees are shaded by banana 
stalks, but that method is not followed in Brazil. 
Corn is oftentimes planted between the rows of 
coffee trees to bring an extra crop, but this 
method is not approved by the best planters, 
as coffee trees exhaust the soil rapidly enough 
by themselves. On some of the old fazendas the 
plants are set in rows not more than eight or 
ten feet apart, but the newer plantations are 
at a distance of from twelve to fifteen feet. The 
trees are carefully pruned, and the ground 
weeded each year, and a crop will be produced 
about the fifth year after planting. If the trees 
are left to grow untrimmed they will reach a 
height of eighteen or twenty feet, but they are 
usually kept down to a height of about twelve 
feet, or less, and are not allowed to spread out 
too much. One quickly learns to distinguish 
between a well-kept and a poorly-cultivated cof- 
fee plantation by its trimmed or untrimmed ap- 
pearance. The growth of weeds is sometimes 



Coffee 



265 



allowed, especially on hillsides, as the roots of 
the weeds prevent the soil from washing during 
the tropical downpours. Otherwise the rich 
surface dirt will disappear down into the val- 
leys below. A planter's credit was at one time 
determined by the number of trees he owned, 
and that was the reason that some of the fields 
were planted so closely together. It has been 
proven, however, by experience, that close 
planting does not pay. One of the most success- 
ful planters told me that even the wagon roads, 
which are left at intervals of perhaps five hun- 
dred feet, were not a loss, for the trees on each 
side produced so much more abundantly that 
they made up for the row or two of trees left 
out for the road. 

The coffee tree is an evergreen, and usually 
has a single trunk with many branches. The 
leaves are long, smooth and dark green in ap- 
pearance. They are almost a shiny green like 
the holly, and look as though they had been var- 
nished. The blossoms grow in great abundance 
in the axils of the branches, and a field in blos- 
som is most entrancing. In the early morning, 
after a refreshing shower, or while the dew still 
lingers, the fields with their small, white blos- 
soms are not only a beautiful sight to the eye, 



266 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



but an aroma arises from them that fills the air 
with a sweet perfume. The fruit usually grows 
in clusters of from a half dozen to a dozen ber- 
ries, which surround the joints almost like a 
necklace just over the leaves. When ripe, the 
coffee berries resemble very much a cranberry 
of medium size. Then the coffee field is again 
a pretty picture, for the white flowers have 
turned into beautiful red berries, and the bushes 
resemble richly loaded cherry trees. The tree 
will produce abundant crops after the sixth 
year, and I saw fields that were at least thirty- 
five years old, and still bearing profitable crops. 
It is said that the coffee trees will produce as 
long as the life of man. There are two kinds 
of trees cultivated in Brazil: the common and 
the yellow-berried, or Botucatu, and generally 
called the Bourbon. The yellow-berried variety 
develops more rapidly, and gives more abun- 
dant crops, but its cultivation is more difficult. 
This latter is the one most generally cultivated 
at the present time, but it brings a lower price 
because it is said to be inferior to the other in 
aromatic qualities and the weight of the grain. 
Its introduction came about when the price was 
very high and every planter was anxious to 
obtain as great a production as possible. 



Coffee 



267 



The coffee trees begin to blossom in Septem- 
ber and continue to bloom for several weeks. 
The maturing process is also irregular, and 
covers a period of a couple of months. It re- 
quires a number of months for the berries to 
mature, and in the state of Sao Paulo, for in- 
stance, the first picking does not take place until 
the last of May or first of June. From that time 
on the plantations are scenes of activity for five 
or six months, until the last of the crop is dis- 
patched to the commission houses in Santos. 
The fields will then be filled with men, women 
and children with their baskets, gathering up 
the precious fruit, ready to be taken to the dry- 
ing yards. 

At harvesting time thousands of pickers flock 
to the coffee regions from other parts of Brazil, 
as they are able to earn good wages for a few 
weeks. Many whole families will travel for 
days on foot, when they have not enough money 
to pay their railroad fares. There is often con- 
siderable rivalry among the pickers to see who 
can pick the most ; but there is also the further 
incentive to rapid work in the fact that all 
wages are paid at so much for a fixed quantity. 
Fifty pounds is considered a good day's pick- 
ing when it is done from the trees. The method 



268 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



in general operation on the large f agendas is 
to strip the branches of all their coffee berries, 
by pulling them between the fingers, and then 
others follow np and pick up the berries, leaves, 
etc., from the ground, or the sheets which have 
been spread out to catch them. In this way only 
one picking is made even though some of the 
berries have become overripe, and others are 
green owing to the uneven ripening. This 
causes a considerable unavoidable loss. In an 
extraordinary season a tree may produce as 
much as seven pounds of coffee, but a fair aver- 
age is three pounds per tree. 

The gathering and preparation of the berries 
is a difficult and laborious operation involving 
a number of processes. The large plantations 
are equipped with all the necessary paved yards 
and machinery for this work, and the smaller 
planters send theirs to central factories, or 
benejicios, as they are called. The coffee must 
be washed, pulped, dried and submitted to sev- 
eral stages of preparation. The washing is a 
simple process, but the work of drying requires 
the greatest care, for it exercises a great influ- 
ence on the value of the coffee. There are at 
least two distinct processes in the preparation 
of the coffee, but it is always first washed and 



Coffee 



269 



then soaked in order to soften the pulp, so 
that it can be removed, for the coffee beans 
are in the centre. This ' 1 pulping " is done 
by a revolving cylinder set with teeth, after 
which the beans are run into tanks for a thor- 
ough washing to remove all traces of the 
pulp. 

Some have a series of these tanks through 
which the coffee is passed, and the beans are 
then carried by means of running water out 
through the paving yards. On these great 
yards of beaten earth, paved with bricks or 
cemented, and sometimes tarred (for they dry 
quicker on a tarred floor), the berries are 
spread out in thin layers to dry. If you would 
take up a handful at this time you would find 
they were covered with a soft gummy substance. 
No artificial drying process equals that of the 
sun's rays. Men with wooden rakes, and in 
their bare feet, are kept constantly busy turning 
over the berries to hasten this process, which 
oftentimes requires many days, and even 
weeks, for it is necessary that they be evenly 
dried. 

You probably expect to see a green berry or 
bean at this time but they are still covered with 
a parchment-like skin. When they are finally 



270 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



dried this parchment skin is removed by pass- 
ing the beans through heavy rollers, and the 
chaff is cleared away by machine work similar 
to that used for similar processes in wheat 
threshing and cleaning. By a continuous proc- 
ess the beans are passed through machines 
which husk, fan, polish and sort them according 
to sizes. The berries are now a light olive- 
green colour. The little round beans are classed 
as ' ' Mocha ' ' and another size as ' ' Java, ' ' etc. 
The various grades are then sacked in coarse 
sacks, labelled with the name of the fazenda and 
the grade, and shipped to Eio de Janeiro, or 
Santos, where the great commission houses are 
located. 

The commission houses are important insti- 
tutions and practically own many of the f agen- 
das through advance loans, and the planter is 
helpless against charges that are oftentimes ex- 
cessive. In the warehouses the coffee is all 
emptied out in great piles, and repacked in new 
sacks, often being regraded by the commission- 
aires. The planter is burdened with a great 
number of expenses. The net price to him the 
past year was only a little over four cents per 
pound. Among these expenses the following is 
a fair list as taken from an official publication, 



Coffee 



271 



and verified to me by a leading planter : trans- 
portation to the railroad station, transportation 
to Santos, mnnicipal export tax, resacking 
charges, shipping old sacks back, brokers' com- 
mission (should be three per cent., but is in fact 
much higher), a special tax of $1.00 per sack 
and an ad valorem export tax of nine per cent., 
and a number of other minor charges. In the 
end it is the commission man who has the small- 
est amount of work and least risk, who makes 
the big money at the present price of coffee. It 
used to be when the planter received ten to 
twelve cents per pound for his coffee that the 
fazendero rolled in wealth, and no extravagance 
or luxury was beyond him. At the present time 
only those who have the latest improved ma- 
chinery, so that the cost of preparation is re- 
duced to a minimum, are making much money. 
A rise or fall of a cent per pound often means 
prosperity to the coffee producer or the reverse. 
The price to-day is not more than one-third of 
what it was a number of years ago. It is prob- 
ably quite possible to simplify the cultivation 
of coffee trees so that there would be a consid- 
erable margin of profit at the present prices. 
One progressive planter looks after forty thou- 
sand trees with one man, four mules and two 



272 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



machines of a recent pattern, according to a 
report that I saw. 

The steady decrease in the price of coffee 
during several years led to a new departure in 
economics, by the three great coffee producing 
states of Brazil. A sack of coffee (one hundred 
and thirty-two pounds), which in 1895 was 
worth almost $20.00 in Europe, had fallen to 
$8.00 in 1905. The coffee planters were almost 
in despair over this low price, which threatened 
to spell ruin for many of them within a short 
time. Among themselves they had attempted 
various measures, but all of them had failed. 
An attempt had been made as early as 1901, by 
the state of Sao Paulo, to remedy this situation, 
by a practically prohibitive tax upon new plan- 
tations, allowing each planter to set out each 
year only five per cent, of what he already 
possessed. This would not much more than 
replace the natural decay. This order was orig- 
inally made for a period of five years, but has 
since been continued for another period of the 
same length. 

This measure failed to bring about the de- 
sired result. Finally, when the crop of 1906-7 
promised to be such an unusual crop, the plant- 
ers appealed to the government for further 



Coffee 



273 



relief. The state was equally interested, since 
by far the greatest part of the revenue of the 
state, and the various municipalities as well, is 
derived from its tax upon coffee, and they were 
afraid that the planters would become panicky 
and abandon coffee cultivation. Because of 
this alarm the governments of the three states 
of Eio de Janeiro, Minas Geraes and Sao Paulo 
entered into an agreement, known as the Tau- 
bate Agreement, by which these states, acting 
through Sao Paulo, agreed to buy up on the 
market the surplus production and store it until 
such time as, in the judgment of the commis- 
sioners, conditions warranted its sale. 

This judgment was based upon the observa- 
tion that coffee trees exhaust themselves by 
such an extraordinary crop, and yield only 
average crops for the next two or three years. 
They figured that by that time the natural in- 
crease in the consumption would give a market 
for this coffee. Further, it was known that 
coffee improves, rather than deteriorates, with 
age. A special export tax of $0.60 to $1.00 per 
sack was established at the ports of Kio and 
Santos, and the government of Sao Paulo was 
authorized to borrow not to exceed $45,000,000 
to raise a fund to purchase the coffee, each of 



274 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the three states jointly binding themselves in 
the obligation. As a result of this agreement 
that state purchased eight million sacks of 
coffee in the market, and these were stored in 
a number of central points in Europe, as well 
as in New York. Money was borrowed at com- 
paratively high rates. Both the state obliga- 
tion was given and the stored coffee pledged as 
collateral security. At that time it was esti- 
mated that there would be, including the new 
crop, a surplus stock of fourteen million sacks 
of coffee, representing almost one year's con- 
sumption. 

The result of this action of the coffee pro- 
ducing states has not been what was expected. 
The price has not increased as was predicted, 
and the interest and other expenses have been 
a great drain upon revenues. Another part of 
the scheme was to limit the exportations from 
the country; nine million sacks being fixed for 
the year 1908, nine million five hundred thou- 
sand for the year 1909, and ten million for the 
following years. All coffee exported above that 
amount would be subject to an additional tax 
which made it prohibitive. Furthermore, the 
crops were rather larger than was expected, so 
that the surplus stock had not appreciatively 



Coffee 



275 



decreased. In the winter of 1909-10, the time 
of my visit, there was a movement on foot, 
which gained a great many adherents, to arbi- 
trarily destroy ten per cent, of the previous 
season's crop, but this was not done. Within 
four months after the new crop came in, the 
limit allowed for export had been reached, and 
the export trade was at a standstill. It was 
a new attempt to get around the law of supply 
and demand. The final result of this attempt 
is as yet problematical, and remains to be seen. 
It was a bold and original effort that has many 
defenders, and many critics as well, right 
among the Brazilian people. 

If not the best, the Brazilians make one of 
the best cups of coffee in the world. Never 
have I tasted such delicious coffee as I did 
almost all over that republic. The Brazilians 
understand fully the art of preparing this de- 
licious beverage, and make it fit for kings and 
queens. They generally choose a coffee berry 
at least two years old, as they say that age 
improves the aroma. Some even say that five 
or six years' storage in a dry place is still 
better. Another essential, they say, is to roast 
and grind the coffee fresh every day. The 
roasting process is very thorough, for it is 



276 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



roasted until the average American housewife 
would call it burned. The black roasted coffee 
is reduced to a fine powder, and then placed in 
a woollen bag through which hot water is 
poured. It is never allowed to boil, so that their 
coffee is rather a percolation than an extrac- 
tion. I am not a cook, but I do know that the 
coffee as prepared by the Brazilians is deli- 
cious, and seems to be free from the harmful 
effects. In the morning it is served in about 
equal proportions with hot milk, but at all 
other times clear. Little dainty cups of black 
coffee with plenty of damp sugar are always 
served at social calls, at nearly all public offices 
and in many other places where one visits. In 
fact, if you called on a Brazilian family, and 
coffee or some other refreshment were not 
served, you would almost be justified in believ- 
ing that your call was not especially welcome. 
I drank coffee many times, and at all hours, 
when offered, and often feared the conse- 
quences, but never felt the slightest ill effect. 



CHAPTER XIV 



THE LAND AND SEA FOKCES 

" You had better take off your hat," said a 
friend to me, as some national troops were 
marching by on the Avenida Central, in Eio 
de Janeiro ; ' 1 if you do not, some one may 
knock it off, ' ' he continued. Then I noticed that 
every man and boy respectfully lifted his hat 
as the flag passed him; and I did the same. 
Three regiments of infantry passed along, 
each with its banner fluttering in the breeze, 
and as many times did we lift our hats in salute 
to the green and yellow starred emblem of 
Brazil; and I must confess that the sentiment 
involved in this tribute to the flag, for which 
we are supposed to be willing to bleed and die 
at all times, is commendable, and worthy of 
emulation. 

Brazil is not a military nation in the sense 
that European nations are such. The propor- 
tion of soldiers to the population is greater 
than in the United States, but far less than in 

277 



278 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



almost any European nation. The total num- 
ber of men under arms, including the military 
police, does not exceed fifty thousand men. Of 
this number more than one-half are state 
troops. The soldiers are not much in evidence 
in any part of the republic, except those doing 
police duty. A compulsory military service 
does not exist, after the German or French 
model, although the right of conscription by 
either state or federal government is a part of 
the law, and can be resorted to whenever, in the 
judgment of either government, such a step 
becomes necessary. Retired or active officers 
are stationed at nearly all the colleges, by whom 
instruction in military tactics is given after 
established systems, much the same as in our 
own educational institutions. The term of en- 
listment in the federal army is for three years, 
with certain privileges in the event that the 
soldier re-enlists when a term has expired. One 
of these privileges is the choice of a free grant 
of land in one of the government colonies, and 
the gift of an outfit of agricultural implements 
with which to cultivate it. 

Another inducement is in the way of addi- 
tional remuneration. The entire republic is 
divided into seven districts, in each of which 



The Land and Sea Forces 279 



a barrack is maintained. The federal troops 
are divided into twenty different regiments, and 
a number of battalions are made up of the dif- 
ferent branches of the service. The arms of all 
troops are of the latest improved Mauser type, 
and the artillery is exclusively of German man- 
ufacture. 

The state troops number a considerable force. 
They are different in organization from the 
state militia of the United States, because they 
are regular troops under arms. The most of 
them serve in the various cities of the states 
as military police. They are a good and ef- 
fective force in preserving order ; and yet they 
have often been the source of serious trouble, 
for this system has enabled a state ring to defy 
national authority, because they had right at 
hand an armed force of their own, which pri- 
marily owned allegiance to the state govern- 
ment. The state of Sao Paulo alone has in its 
employ a force that exceeds five thousand well- 
armed and trained troops. Rio Grande do Sul, 
that turbulent and impetuous southern state, 
has an almost equal force, and the " Rio 
Grandenses " have been proven puissant and 
effective in more than one skirmish with fed- 
eral troops. Bahia maintains about three 



280 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



thousand soldiers under arms in her barracks, 
and Minas Geraes conies next with twenty- 
five hundred. There is not a single state which 
does not have at least a few hundred men 
enrolled under its own banner. If all of these 
state troops would be loyal to the federal gov- 
ernment, as they undoubtedly would be at this 
time, it would give a fairly good fighting force 
with which to meet any aggression from with- 
out. 

The revolt of a national navy seems like a 
very unusual and almost ludicrous proceeding; 
yet Brazil had such an experience early in the 
history of the republic. For six months the 
Brazilian navy under Admirals Mello and Sal- 
danha da Gama openly defied the authority of 
President Floriano, the second incumbent of 
that high office. Admiral Mello, who was in 
command of the navy, sent a short and curt 
message to the President ordering him to resign 
the presidency within six hours, or a bombard- 
ment of Eio de Janeiro would follow. Presi- 
dent Floriano was made of stern stuff and flatly 
refused to resign. The Admiral then weakened 
in his threat and did not bombard the capital. 
Had he carried it out great destruction would 
undoubtedly have followed. The most of the 



The Land and Sea Forces 281 



navy remained in the bay, but a few of the boats 
escaped and joined the land insurgents in the 
southern part of the republic. The navy, cut 
off from supplies of food and fuel, was obliged 
to yield in the end, and the national government 
was victorious. 

A quarter of a century ago the Brazilian navy 
was easily the most powerful in the southern 
hemisphere. At that time no other South 
American republic could boast of a navy of any 
considerable strength. Brazil then possessed a 
number of battleships, cruisers and other boats 
that were very creditable, and the cost of which 
had been very great. Since that time both Ar- 
gentina and Chile have spent large sums of 
money building up their naval strength, and 
the discrepancy in sea forces is not so great as 
formerly. Both of these nations have made 
great financial sacrifices in order to dispute the 
supremacy of their bulky neighbour on the 
water. Ever since the establishment of an inde- 
pendent empire in Brazil more attention had 
been devoted to building up a formidable sea 
force than an army, and the same conditions 
exist to-day. It is perhaps not a bad thing for 
Brazil to have a strong navy because of its 
extensive coast line. Furthermore, because of 



282 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



the loose cohesion between the states, this arm 
of the national government adds greatly to its 
prestige. Nearly all the most powerful states 
have an extensive sea coast, and the navy would 
greatly assist the federal government in the 
event of any revolt against its authority. Al- 
though each state has its own military force, 
as heretofore described, none of them have any 
armed vessels to protect their ports. It is quite 
possible also, that a united interest in a power- 
ful navy may aid in furthering a national and 
federal spirit which will aid in breaking down 
the idea of state loyalty as against federal 
unity, which has been hitherto predominant. 
If this should be the result, then the money 
invested in these seemingly useless monsters of 
the deep may be well spent. 

The only instance when the navy has been in 
actual service was during the conflict with Ar- 
gentina, and the Paraguayan war, when some 
engagements took place on the Parana and 
Paraguay Rivers, between some of the smaller 
boats of Brazil and some armed vessels of 
Paraguay. In these encounters the former 
were victorious, and the Brazilians are proud 
of referring to the glorious traditions of the 
history of their navy. 



The Land and Sea Forces 283 



The principal naval establishment is at Rio 
de Janeiro, near the landing dock. The naval 
yards here are qnite extensive, and a couple of 
thousand men are usually employed. Several 
small cruisers and some river boats have been 
constructed there, but all the large boats have 
been built abroad, and the most of them in 
British yards. At the present time the boats 
listed in the Brazilian navy number about fifty. 
This includes every vessel, large and small, 
many of which are practically useless from the 
modern view point of practical war values. 
They could only be used in patrolling inland 
rivers, where neither armed vessels nor forts 
would be encountered. This list includes seven 
vessels that are classed as battleships, eight 
cruisers, nine torpedo boats, and then the aux- 
iliary fleet, consisting of several small gun 
boats, dispatch boats, etc. 

This list does not embody, however, the new 
vessels which are now being received from Eng- 
lish builders. A couple of years ago contracts 
were let for three Dreadnaughts, two scout 
ships, two torpedo boats and ten torpedo boat 
destroyers. The addition of these boats will 
again place Brazil in the first rank of naval 
powers in the southern hemisphere. The three 



284 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Dreadnaughts are claimed by the Brazilians to 
be the most powerful of their kind that have 
yet been constructed. They contain some new 
modifications in the placing of armour and the 
equipment of guns. 

These monster warships will be named the 
Minas Geraes, Sao Paulo and the Rio de 
Janeiro, in honour of the three most powerful 
states. The first named has already been de- 
livered, and is now in Brazilian waters. The 
other two will follow at intervals of a few 
months, and the smaller boats will all be added 
to the navy during the year 1910. One innova- 
tion is the placing of twelve-inch guns in the 
upper towers instead of the ten-inch guns 
which have been used heretofore. This feature, 
the British builders claim, gives these boats the 
most powerful armament of any ships afloat. 
Nine-inch armour has been used where seven 
and eight inch has generally been used. Then 
secondary batteries of great strength have been 
added in the centre line of the boats, which are 
also a novel feature. A speed of almost twenty- 
two knots an hour for these leviathans has been 
generated by the builders on the several trial 
runs. Each of the new battleships will be five 
hundred and forty- three feet in length with a 



The Land and Sea Forces 285 



displacement of nineteen thousand two hundred 
and eighty tons and a draught of twenty-five 
feet. The two scout ships will be named Bahia 
and Eio Grande do Sul after two more states. 
These vessels have been built for speed, and will 
be able to rush through the water at the rate of 
twenty-six and one-half knots per hour. They 
are now considering the advisability of adding 
submarine boats to the navy in order to com- 
plete the naval equipment. 

" These new ships/' say the Brazilian au- 
thorities, " make it impossible for the great 
powers to start any so-called pacific demonstra- 
tion against Brazil. To have any chance of 
success against the Brazilian Dreadnaughts, 
and other subsidiary ships, a power ought to 
have a number of ships at least double; but 
there is no country, England included, that can 
send so far from home such a considerable part 
of its navy without danger.' ' It has had one 
effect, and that has been to stir up its ambitious 
neighbour on the east coast, Argentina, and 
that country has recently let a contract with an 
American shipyard for two battle-ships which, 
according to Argentinian naval authorities, will 
be still more powerful Dreadnaughts than the 
new Brazilian ships. 



286 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



For the education of young men for the army 
and navy the government maintains a number 
of schools. The Escola Militar, or military 
school of Rio Janeiro, is the West Point of 
Brazil. Here cadets are educated in military 
science and fitted for positions as commissioned 
officers. A military school is also maintained at 
Porto Alegre, where the children of military 
officers are educated at the government expense. 
There is also a Navy College in the same city 
for technical instruction in naval science. 
Schools for apprentices are also maintained in 
a number of the principal ports. The majority 
of those who enter these schools, both army and 
navy, are of mixed nationality, either negro or 
Indian. Instruction is given in all of the ele- 
mentary studies in addition to army or naval 
science. The few years instruction received in 
those institutions by these men, who generally 
come from poor and ignorant homes, makes 
them not only better educated men but better 
fitted to assume the duties of citizens of a great 
republic. 



CHAPTER XV 



RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES 

The Indians, whom the Portuguese found in 
Brazil, had not advanced in civilization as had 
the Incas in Peru, or the Aztecs in Mexico. 
They were more or less nomadic, although the 
different tribes kept within certain general 
limits as did the North American Indians. Per- 
haps the bounty of nature and the hot climate 
deadened the impulse to mental effort and ex- 
ertion that leads to a higher civilization. There 
are evidences of the existence of the family 
relation and marriage customs, but polygamy 
was practised. Cannibalism was common too ; 
and it is said that they not only devoured their 
enemies killed in war, but even ate their rela- 
tives as a special mark of favour and consider- 
ation. 

The Indians generally believed in three great 
or chief gods. The sun was the god of the 
animal kingdom, the moon of the vegetable 
kingdom and Ruda was the god of love and 

287 



288 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



reproduction. In addition to these chief gods 
there was a multitude of inferior deities who 
served various purposes. The fact that there 
was some idea of a future life, or a " happy 
hunting ground " in the beyond, is shown by 
the burial custom of depositing in the grave of 
the dead warrior the bow and arrow, and ves- 
sels in which to prepare food. It was also the 
custom to hang a number of friends or relatives 
upon the death of a chief, in order that the 
departed might have congenial company in the 
next world. The importation of negroes from 
Africa also brought in a great deal of super- 
stition, and a tendency toward idolatry and 
fetichism, which can be traced in the religious 
and moral customs even to this day. 

It is impossible not to admire the early mis- 
sionaries of the Roman Catholic Church. They 
followed side by side with those adventurers 
and explorers who pushed their way through 
trackless forests and almost impassable 
swamps in their search for earth's treasures. 
It was the Jesuits who did most of the early 
evangelizing work in Brazil. This order was 
more humanely disposed toward the natives 
than some of the orders who accompanied the 
Spanish Conquistadores, for they endeavoured 



Religious Influences 289 



to protect the natives from injustice. It was 
in the middle of the 16th century that the mem- 
bers of this order began their evangelizing 
work in Brazil. They plunged into regions 
hitherto unpenetrated by white men. They 
went out alone among the cannibal tribes who 
dwelt on these shores, and lived with them. 
They learned the languages, and soon were able 
to preach to them in their own tongues. These 
brave missionaries exhorted the Indians to lay 
aside their practice of cannibalism and polyg- 
amous marriages, and adopt the new faith. In 
order to appeal to their childlike natures every 
device and paraphernalia of pomp and proces- 
sion was adopted in their services. Miraculous 
appearances and finds became common, so that 
sacred sites for the building of the religious 
edifices were frequently located by this means. 

In order to give an unprejudiced view of the 
methods and purposes pursued by the early 
Jesuit missionaries I quote from Baron de 
Santa-Anna Nery, 1 himself a Catholic: " The 
Missionaries did not insist upon any strict 
theological teaching, being sure that their or- 
thodoxy would soon be disfigured ; they had but 
one aim in view, to render gentle and good these 

1 Land of the Amazons. 



290 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



unhappy human beings, who gave themselves 
up recklessly to every impulse of their violent 
passions. 

" The God of the Christians became for these 
imaginative savages the awe-inspiring Tupan. 
Satan was incarnate in the person of the terri- 
ble Ananga. Then they grasped a trinity, based 
upon the Catholic Trinity, and composed of the 
sun, the moon and Euda, the god of love. We 
took part in our childhood at processions where 
fetich beliefs were mixed up with Christian 
rites. The ingenious priests who invented cere- 
mony certainly did more than all the other 
preachers put together to perpetuate a sem- 
blance of the Catholic faith amongst the In- 
dians. 

" When the Indians celebrated any saint's 
day they erected an altar in their hut upon 
which they placed an image of the Saint and at 
its feet is placed the Siare. In front of the 
house they raise a large thatched roof. Tables 
are set up and everything prepared for dancing 
and merrymaking." 

In this way were the native Indians induced 
to adopt at least the external forms of religion. 
It was not long until the majority of the abo- 
rigines became nominal adherents of the new 



Religious Influences 291 



religion. Wherever a tribe became baptized a 
church was erected in which to hold services, 
and a priest was left in charge. These priests \ 
instructed the Indians in rudimentary agricul- \ 
ture as well as theology, and the superiority of 
the educated priest over the ignorant native 
soon gave him a position of great vantage and 
influence. Power proved pleasing to the Jesuit. 
It was not long until the priests were really 
stronger than the civil authorities, and a prac- 
tical theocracy sprang into existence. 

They fought for the freedom of the Indian. 
The colonists wanted to enslave these poor na- 
tives, and make them work, willingly or unwill- 
ingly, on the plantations which they themselves i 
were too lazy to cultivate. This was strenu- 
ously resisted by the Jesuit fathers, and by the 
church authorities in general, and led to many 
hard struggles. So when we read of the early 
struggles between the ' ' Paulistas ' ' and the 
Jesuits, one cannot help but sympathize with 
the latter, for they were championing the rights 
of the weak. And yet their motives do not seem 
to have been wholly altruistic, for they eventu- 
ally endeavoured to reduce the Indians to a 
blind obedience to their own whims and will. 
Though they gave him a great measure of peace, 



292 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



they made him a blind servant to the will of 
an ambitious priesthood. The colonists con- 
tinued their efforts to enslave the Indians, and 
in the end the Jesuits were expelled for a time 
from several of the states. 

One of the most noted of this order was 
named Jose Anchieta, who was a native of 
Teneriffe, and the son of a Portuguese noble- 
man. It was as much due to his courage and 
genius as any other cause that the Jesuit influ- 
ence spread as it did and became established so 
firmly that it has not been shaken even to this 
day in many sections of Brazil. He was sincere, 
eloquent, learned and an indefatigable worker. 
He went among the Indians, learned their lan- 
guage and acquired an almost superhuman in- 
fluence among them. He became looked upon 
by the natives as almost divine. Water poured 
over his bones is said to have worked a thou- 
sand miracles, and a few drops of it are re- 
ported to have turned water into wine. Other 
men of power and influence there were, and a 
string of missions was established among all 
the capitancias. These reached up the Amazon 
to the uppermost limits of Portuguese terri- 
tory, and even to the region claimed by the 
Spanish Jesuits, where some minor conflicts of 



Religious Influences 



293 



authority ensued. The Jesuits founded a num- i 
ber of educational institutions in Brazil, which 
have exerted a great and good influence, 
and many of these exist even to-day. This 
is greatly to the credit of this remarkable 
order. 

Bahia has always been a great centre of 
church influence in Brazil. There is one chapel 
in that city that was founded in 1582. It was 
built upon a spot where a miraculous image of 
a Virgin was said to have been discovered. And 
so one will find all over Brazil, as well as in 
Spanish- America, churches whose foundation is 
built upon alleged sacred spots, and many of 
them are now places for pilgrimages. One of 
these is the church of Nuestra Senhora de 
Penha, which can be seen on a conspicuous 
height as one proceeds up the harbour of Rio 
de Janeiro. This church is reached by a series 
of three hundred and sixty-five steps. During 
one week in October thousands upon thousands 
of the natives visit this sacred shrine, and 
many of them climb up all of these steps on 
their knees as evidence of contrition, or act of 
penance. Everywhere church festas are cele- 
brated, and many of these retain in a remark- 
able degree the traditions of old. In Bahia the 



294 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



natives celebrate one festa occasion by gather- 
ing together all the donkeys of the city, and 
elaborately decorating them with foliage and 
flowers. 

At Para is celebrated a festa which is noted 
in the country. The origin of the celebration 
is generally described as herewith given. Two 
hunters sought rest under the shade of a tree 
while returning from a hunt, and fell asleep. 
A strange woman appeared to one of the men 
in a dream, and told him to search in a thicket 
nearby. To his great surprise a beautiful 
image of the Virgin was found near the trunk 
of a palm tree. The two men were overjoyed 
at the find and presented it to the governor, 
who placed it in the palace chapel. On a certain 
day it was decided to show the image to the 
public, but the image had disappeared. A 
search disclosed it in the same thicket. A sec- 
ond time it was placed in the palace chapel, and 
a second time it found its way back to the 
thicket. This transpired at least twice more, 
although tradition differs as to the exact num- 
ber of times, and then it was decided to build a 
chapel on that spot. This was done. Miracles 
have been very numerous at this shrine. Its 
virtues have so spread that thousands visit it, 



Religious Influences 



295 



and a great procession is formed each year with 
the statue occupying an important position in 
it. Everyone joins in the procession, and the 
occasion is made a great event at Para. The 
collection of relics in the form of wax arms and 
wax legs, with red spots showing where deadly 
wounds had been healed, and wax heads with 
red spots showing where sores or wounds had 
been cured is exceedingly ghastly. The belief 
of the people in these traditions is no doubt 
much less than in former times, and many who 
take part in the festas now probably do so prin- 
cipally because it is a custom hallowed by 
age. 

It is surprising in travelling over the country 
to see the number of shrines and small chapels 
which dot the wayside and crown the summit 
of many hills. Some miraculous story is told 
about each one, and there is a shrine or relic 
of some kind in each one which is greatly vener- 
ated. I copy from a description given by Dr. 
H. C. Tucker, agent of the American Bible 
Society in Brazil : 1 

" In the early history of Brazil a town was 
often founded by setting up a Growing Stone, 
a Healing Cross or a Miracle-Working Image. 

1 The Bible in Brazil. 



296 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



These images are often called " Apparecido " 
or " Apparecida," from their " appearing " in 
some cave, or wild forest, stream, or on the 
seacoast. It is supposed that " The Lord of 
Matosinhos " appeared near that place from 
which event the brotherhood of Bom (good) 
Jesus of Matosinhos had its origin. The main 
temple or church, the seven chapels, oratorios, 
wooden figures seated around a table represent- 
ing the Last Supper, the image of Judas and 
the great knife with which the pilgrims give 
him a dig as they pass by, the Agony in the 
Garden, the rough wayside cross of hardwood 
bearing a rude figure, dedicated to Our Lord of 
Matosinhos, with an inscription showing that it 
began to work miracles about the year 1700; 
the gigantic figures of the prophets, the carved 
work in wood and stone, the paintings of vari- 
ous kinds, the instruments of the Passion, the 
miracle-room with the large number of wax 
figures and hundreds of memorial tablets, rep- 
resenting the miracles performed by the image ; 
the side chapels of St. Francis de Assisi, St. 
Francisco de Paula and others, the two pulpits, 
the two boxes and two open confessionals, the 
representation of the Trinity and the Burial of 
Christ, the altar tomb, covered with a board, 



Religious Influences 



297 



which when removed shows a full sized effigy 
of Our Lord of Matosinhos, with angels kneel- 
ing around and praying, which is the grand 
object of the pilgrimage and where the pil- 
grims prostrate themselves and kiss the hand 
of the image with great devotion; on another 
side the cradle of Bethlehem, above the fine 
silver chandeliers : — these are some of the 
many curious things, in crude shape found in 
this church.' ' 

Sunday is a holiday, just as it is in France 
and Spain. The stores are usually open in the 
morning, but closed in the afternoon. The 
women go to church service in the morning, and 
in the afternoon all go out to the races or 
whatever other form of sport occurs on that 
day. Bull fighting was long ago abolished in 
Brazil, and in fact has disappeared from nearly 
the whole of South America. Easter Sunday is 
always a day for processions and solemn serv- 
ice in all the churches. In fact nearly a week 
is given over to the Easter ceremonies, when 
images of Christ and the Virgin and sacred pic- 
tures are carried through the streets of nearly 
every city and village. 

The agents of the American Bible Society 
have traversed almost the entire republic from 



298 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



one end to the other in their work of distribu- 
ting Bibles and Testaments. The colporteurs 
travel by rail, mule, steamer, canoe, or any 
other way that will take them to their destina- 
tion, and oftentimes endure hardships almost 
as great as the Jesuit missionaries of old. Dr. 
Tucker says: "It is painfully depressing to 
one engaged in offering the Scriptures to hear 
three-fourths of them say: 1 I don't know how 
to read.' Another obstacle is the religious 
superstition of the people concerning the Bible 
we offer them, and the belief so strongly incul- 
cated by the priests that they have no right to 
read even the version accepted by the Roman 
Catholic Church." In one town of Minas Ge- 
raes the priest read a letter from the Bishop 
of Diamantina in which the people were warned 
against the " false Bibles " and advised that 
the men ought not to be allowed to stop at any 
place. This aroused the ignorant people to 
almost a fury, and cries of " Away with these 
heretics, kill them, kill them, ' ' were heard from 
numerous throats. Many armed themselves 
with sticks and even guns in their fanatical 
frenzy. No damage was done, however, for 
cooler counsels finally prevailed, but it is indica- 
tive of the intolerant spirit shown by the 



< 

Oh • 

O 5 

K O 

p s 

* £ 



Religious Influences 



299 



clergy — not to the work of Protestant denomi- 
nations, but to the distribution of the Bible by 
this non-sectarian organization. Many times 
the books were forcibly taken from the colpor- 
teurs and burned. It also shows how different 
the Eoman Church is in Brazil from our own 
land. In the United States the Boman Cath- 
olic clergy encourage education and the reading 
of the Scriptures to all of their flock. They 
maintain parochial schools at great expense in 
their efforts to educate the youths. They unite 
with other organizations in common efforts to 
upbuild and better the world. Some of the most 
severe critics have been members of that church 
from other countries, who have visited Brazil, 
and other countries of South America. 

The Brazilian prides himself on his forbear- 
ance and generosity. So far as I could observe 
there is absolute freedom of worship through- 
out the republic. So far as official attitude goes, 
at least, that statement is absolutely true. It 
is quite possible that missionary efforts in re- 
mote districts might encounter a fanatical out- 
burst, but, in the populated centres, mission- 
aries are undisturbed, and they are allowed to 
prosecute their work free from open molesta- 
tion; and everywhere that efforts have been 



300 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



made greater or lesser congregations are being 
bnilt np. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church Sonth has 
the greatest number of missionaries at work in 
I Brazil, this field having been given over to it 
i by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has a 
number of missionaries stationed in several dif- 
ferent states, and in some places has built up 
fair-sized congregations. Along with its relig- 
ious work it conducts a number of very excel- 
lent schools, which are doing a work that can 
not be measured by material standards, for edu- 
cation is the great need of the country. In par- 
ticular, it has established schools for the educa- 
tion of girls, and in this work it has been very 
successful. Many families send their daughters 
to these schools in preference to the government 
institutions. The Granberry College of Juiz 
de Fora, which welcomes both sexes, has been 
mentioned elsewhere. In the same city is the 
Collegio Mineiro Americano, a very worthy in- 
stitution with an able faculty, in which about 
three hundred and fifty girls receive instruc- 
tion. Another very excellent girls' school is 
conducted at Petropolis, where they have a 
beautiful location up on a hill overlooking the 
city. Other schools are located at Piracicaba, 



Religious Influences 



301 



Riberao Preto, Bello Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro 
and Porto Alegre. 

The Presbyterian Church of the United 
States was one of the first denominations to be- 
gin work in Brazil. It soon gained a large num- 
ber of adherents and founded that excellent in- 
stitution of learning in Sao Paulo, Mackenzie 1 
College. Some local disagreements among the 
native members split the church, and one branch 
broke off from the parent society in the United 
States. This society still maintains a separate 
organization and has a number of congrega- 
tions, but the rupture was an unfortunate occur- 
rence. The Baptists have also begun work in 
several of the states. They have established 
schools for young boys and girls in Sao Paulo, 
Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco. The Angli- 
can Church has churches in several cities, but 
does not prosecute missionary work, as its | 
churches are primarily for communicants of 
that denomination residing in the country. The 
Protestant Episcopal Church also has organized 
a few societies through missionary effort. 
There are quite a number of German Lutheran 
Churches in the three southern states where the 
Germans have settled, but they do not attempt 
any work outside of the German-speaking pop- 



302 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



illation. One of these churches will be found 
in nearly every community where there is a con- 
siderable German colony. 

The Young Men's Christian Association has 
I entered the Brazilian field in a number of 
places. At the present time it has associations 
organized in Eio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Porto 
Alegre and Pernambuco, with college chapters 
at Mackenzie and Granberry Colleges and the 
Military School in Porto Alegre. It is, I be- 
lieve, doing a good work on the broad lines 
adopted by that great world-wide organization, 
where people of varying beliefs can unite their 
efforts for mutual profit, and also for the gen- 
eral good of the communities in which they live. 
There is a great field for this work, in my opin- 
ion, in this land where there is so much religious 
indifference among the men, who seem to leave 
the religious work almost entirely to the women 
of their families. At present these institutions 
are cramped in their work by lack of funds, 
but the secretaries, who are young Americans, 
are energetic in their efforts and are doing the 
very best they can with the resources at their 
command. They aid very much in the fraterniz- 
ing of the native and foreign elements of the 
communities. It is an age of almost complete 



Religious Influences 



303 



religious indifference, at least among the men 
of Brazil; and any movement that will ronse 
the people from this lethargy, either within or 
without the Roman school, will be beneficial to 
the country. 



CHAPTEE XVI 



THE EMPIRE 

The history of Brazil contains more exciting 
chapters, and has been the most chequered of 
the Sonth American republics. Its territory has 
been the battleground of Spaniards, Portu- 
guese, French, Indians and negroes. It has 
been successively a capitancia, a province, an 
empire and a republic. And yet, with all these 
changes and admixtures, the language, customs, 
religion and laws of Brazil are substantially 
those of Portugal. Eome gave these things as 
a heritage to that country, and she in turn 
transmitted them to her colony in the New 
World. 

Early in the year 1500, one Pedro Alvarez 
Cabral, a Portuguese nobleman, sailed from 
Lisbon for the East Indies. Owing to some 
peculiar instructions that had been given to him 
by the King of Portugal, he sailed far west 
of the usual route for vessels bound to those 
islands. One bright morning, during Easter 

304 



The Empire 



305 



week, land was sighted, and his little fleet came 
to anchor off the coast of what is now the state 
of Bahia. Believing that this was only an 
island he named it the " Island of the True 
Cross," and took formal possession of it in the 
name of his sovereign. On Easter Sunday a 
landing was made, and the first mass was held. 
A few days later the entire fleet departed, leav- 
ing only a couple of mutinous sailors on shore. 

The news of the discovery of this new land 
soon reached Portugal, and the Crown of that 
country immediately made formal claim to the 
territory. Expeditions were sent out by King 
Manuel to explore this supposed island. One 
of these expeditions was in charge of Amerigo 
Vespucci, and it was he who ascertained, after 
a careful examination, that this new land was 
a continent and not an island. Wherever the 
Indians were seen they were questioned about 
gold and silver, but, although the natives told 
marvellous tales of wealth, no mines were lo- 
cated. The only object of commercial value 
seemed to be the dyewood, known as brazil- 
wood ; and, in spite of the efforts of the Church 
to name the country Santa Cruz, the holy cross, 
the name Brazil soon supplanted all other 
names, and has clung to the country ever since, 



306 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



although religious names abound in the geog- 
raphy of Brazil. Scores of ships of various 
nationalities soon sought these shores for this 
precious wood, the commerce of which was ex- 
ceedingly profitable. For a quarter of a century 
this land, teeming with fertility, remained un- 
settled, although explorations had been made 
from the mouth of the Amazon as far south as 
the Rio de la Plata. The resources of the coun- 
try were fully appreciated, and Vespucci him- 
self is credited with saying, that if Paradise did 
exist on this planet it could not be far from the 
Brazilian coast. 

The earliest permanent settlers of Brazil 
were mutineers from the ships bound for India. 
One of these, Diego Alvarez, was put ashore at 
Bahia; another, John Ramelho, was left at 
Santos ; and the third, Aleixo Garcia, found his 
unsought habitation still farther south. Each 
of these men married daughters of local chief- 
tains, and they, and their descendants, aided 
greatly in the final subjugation of the country, 
for they allied themselves with the incomers. 
The first serious effort to colonize the country 
was begun near Pernambuco, where an attempt 
was made to establish a sugar plantation. This, 
however, was soon destroyed by some French 



The Empire 



307 



brazil-wood hunters. An expedition, consisting 
of fonr hundred persons, was sent out under 
Martino Affonso de Souza a short time after- 
wards. After sailing along the coast he finally 
dropped anchor, and established the little settle- 
ment of Sao Vicente, near the present city of 
Santos, in 1532. 1 It was not long after this that 
the Crown divided up the whole Brazilian coast 
into parallel strips, each extending fifty leagues 
along the coast, and running inland as far as 
the power of Portugal extended ; and these sec- 
tions, called capitancias, were given to court 
favourites. The grantee was given practically 
sovereign powers over this territory in return 
for a certain tax which he was expected to pay. 
As a result of this arrangement a number of 
permanent colonies grew up on Brazilian soil. 
Of all the capitancias, that which included Per- 
nambuco became the most prosperous because 
it was in the track of all the vessels from Eu- 
rope, and also because it was found so well 
adapted to the cultivation of the sugar cane, 
which, at that time, was very profitable. Fur- 

1 Note. — The author desires to acknowledge his obligation 
for a number of historical facts to The South American Republics, 
by Hon. Thomas C. Dawson, and published by G. P. Putnam's 
Sons, of New York and London. 



308 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



thermore, little or no trouble was experienced 
with the Indians, who had become allies of the 
white men. By the middle of the sixteenth cen- 
tury this settlement was a flourishing one, and 
there were a half dozen or more communities 
south of it. 

The capitancia system was not a success. 
Some of the grantees did not succeed; others 
grew to be arrogant. This aroused the jealousy 
of the Portuguese government, which began to 
make efforts to centralize the colony, and sent 
out a governor-general with plenary powers 
and explicit directions. A capital was built in 
the beautiful bay of Bahia, and the success of 
sugar cultivation on these shores made this set- 
tlement prosperous. Negroes were imported as 
slaves, and Bahia continued a great distribu- 
ting point of these human chattels for centuries. 
By the year 1585, it was estimated by a priest, 
that there were twenty-five thousand white peo- 
ple in Brazil, twelve thousand of whom were 
in Bahia, and eight thousand at Pernambuco. 
Bio de Janeiro, at that time, had a population 
of less than a thousand. 

Other nations had been casting jealous eyes 
upon this Portuguese colony in the New World. 
A large colony of French Huguenots, seeking 



The Empire 



309 



more congenial homes, settled at Rio de Janeiro, 
and formed friendly alliances with the Indians. 
This policy was exactly the opposite of the pol- 
icy of the Portuguese settlers, who generally 
enslaved the aborigines wherever possible. It 
was several years before these French colonists 
were finally driven out of the country. In 1580 
Brazil had become a Spanish possession 
through the uniting of the throne of Spain and 
Portugal. Spain, however, neglected Brazil, 
because it was not furnishing the golden wealth 
like Mexico, Peru and their other American 
colonies. The Dutch conquest about this time 
was far more formidable than all other oppo- 
sition combined. The Dutch East India Com- 
pany had been so successful in securing the 
greater part of the Portuguese possessions in 
the Pacific Ocean, that a West India Company 
was organized to do the same thing in Brazil. 
Although protected and subsidized by the Dutch 
government, this company was organized for 
private profit. A fleet of privateers, flying the 
flag of Holland, appeared at Bahia and captured 
that city ; Pernambuco succumbed a few weeks 
later. Although there were a number of re- 
verses the Dutch gradually extended their sov- 
ereignty until the whole of the northeastern 



310 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



part of Brazil was in their control. This Dutch 
sovereignty lasted for more than a quarter of 
a century, and it was not until Portugal had 
had its sovereignty restored, and several san- 
guinary battles were fought, that the Dutch 
West India Company relinquished its hold on 
these rich provinces. 

During the occupancy of the northern prov- 
inces by the Dutch, development was going on 
in the south where Portuguese rule was undis- 
puted. The Paulistas had by this time devel- 
oped into an energetic and aggressive race. In 
their search for gold, and Indians whom they 
might enslave, they had spread their conquest 
over the great interior plateaus; they had 
rooted out all the settlements established by the 
Spanish Jesuits on the upper Parana and had 
spread south as far as Rio Grande do Sul. 
Comparative commercial and governmental 
freedom had stimulated progress, so that by 
the end of the seventeenth century the popula- 
tion of Brazil had increased to three-quarters 
of a million. Many and bitter were the contests 
waged with the Jesuit priesthood, and the Paul- 
istas were especially bitter in their opposition 
to this order. At last the Portuguese govern- 
ment forcibly expelled them from all Brazil. 



The Empire 



311 



Many negroes escaped from their bondage, and 
fled into the interior, where they refused to rec- 
ognize white supremacy, and there set up inde- 
pendent governments, and some of these strange 
republics lasted for fifty years. 

It was not until the beginning of the 18th 
century that Rio de Janeiro became a place of 
importance. The discovery of gold in Minas 
Greraes a little while before caused a great influx 
of adventurers, and Rio was the only gateway 
to the mining territory. It soon possessed a 
population of several thousand and became a 
city of social and commercial importance. 
Other communities grew and many new prov- 
inces were formed. With increasing wealth and 
agricultural and mineral prosperity came evi- 
dences of discontent with the body politic. The 
policies of the home government became nar- 
rower and narrower, as the East India posses- 
sions were lost, and they seemed determined to 
milk this one colony to the very last drop. The 
colony was neither allowed to manufacture 
goods, nor purchase of any country except Por- 
tugal; and this even was hampered in many 
ways by burdensome imposts. All business 
transactions were burdened with heavy fees; 
slaves were charged so much a head ; all trades 



312 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and professions were taxed at ruinous rates, 
and certain lines of trade were let out as monop- 
olies to favourites. The governors interfered 
everywhere with the administration of justice, 
and bribery was rampant on all sides. Unau- 
thorized taxes were imposed, forced loans ex- 
acted from individuals, and young men were 
impressed into military service. 

It is little wonder that dissatisfaction grew 
apace. A deep repugnance spread over the land 
and the very name of government grew to be 
hated. The hostility to Portugal and aversion 
to everything Portuguese permeated all classes 
without distinction. One bright page shines out 
at this period of the colony's history during the 
administration of the Marquis of Pombal, who 
became prime minister of Portugal in 1750. 
The marquis punished bribery and incompe- 
tence without fear or favour, and for a few 
years the colony greatly prospered. After 
twenty-seven years of rule he was driven out. 
and the old abuses returned in even a greater 
degree, if such was possible. The success of 
the revolution in the United States about this 
time aroused many Brazilians to the possibility 
of freedom from the galling yoke. A conspir- 
acy arose in the state of Minas Geraes, in a 



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313 



literary circle that existed there, but it was 
easily destroyed and one man, Tiradentes, was 
executed. 

About this time an incident happened which 
stemmed the tide of events for a time. Napo- 
leon was at the height of his power, and was 
overturning monarchies with a ruthless hand. 
Having conquered Spain, his armies descended 
upon Portugal in 1808. Fear seized the court, 
and Dom John, although shedding tears over 
his unhappy country, decided to save his own 
head by flight. Hence he embarked at Lisbon 
with all the royal family in the men-of-war, and 
set sail for Eio. Fifteen thousand persons, in- 
cluding many of the nobility and hangers-on, 
also embarked at the same time, together with 
fifty millions of property and treasure, and ar- 
rived at Rio the 8th of March, 1808. The king's 
first act was to issue a decree removing all the 
fetters on commerce, and opening up the ports 
to the ships of all nations. Many other decrees 
followed, and all restrictions upon foreigners 
were removed. The removal of these fetters to 
industrial development, and the importation of 
so many people, well supplied with money, in- 
augurated a new era for Brazil. A national 
bank was established, the printing press set up 



314 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



and many new schools founded. Scholars and 
artists flocked to this new capital, and the com- 
mercial nations sent their representatives. Bra- 
zil was officially designated as the Kingdom of 
Brazil. There were perhaps three million peo- 
ple in the country, of whom one-third were 
negro slaves, and not more than one-fourth were 
white. Sugar and tobacco were the great staple 
exports, for coffee had not at that time reached 
the importance that it has to-day. 

The coming of the royal court to Rio was not 
without its disadvantages as well. Although it 
brought money, it also brought an extravagant 
government with a swarm of parasites who had 
bankrupted Portugal, and who now began their 
operations in Brazil. Money flowed freely, new 
offices were created to supply places for favour- 
ites, and taxes were augmented to pay these 
bills. Education increased, but the desire for 
holding office was likewise intensified. The 
great estates were practically abandoned, being 
left in the hands of slaves and subordinates. 
Everybody wished to live near the court, and 
all the young men yearned for government of- 
fices. This avidity exists even to this day, and 
its origin may perhaps be traced back to this 
period in the country's history. Politics be- 



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315 



came the popular theme — not from the theo- 
retical standpoint, but the practical one of fur- 
nishing congenial employment at a good salary. 
If the salary was not large enough, then re- 
course was had to other sources for more rev- 
enue to keep up extravagant living. 

All things have an end, and so did the royal 
court in Eio. Napoleon had fallen, and events 
of momentous importance were transpiring in 
Portugal. That country was jealous of the fact 
that the court resided in Brazil, and demanded 
its immediate return. A Cortes had been sum- 
moned which threatened trouble for the mon- 
archy. The Brazilians forced King John, be- 
fore his departure, to sign a decree favouring 
a liberal constitution such as Spain had just 
adopted. This he did with, perhaps, a mental 
reservation, and a couple of days afterward 
embarked for Lisbon with a large suite. 

Upon his departure King John left his son 
Dom Pedro, a young man just past his majority, 
as regent. This young man was a handsome 
and active youth, fond of outdoor sports and a 
patron of the arts. He was strong-willed, but 
passionate and unrestrained, and was entirely 
the opposite of his vacillating, weak-willed 
father. His manners were frank and attractive, 



316 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



but he loved public favour, aud enjoyed being 
the principal dramatic figure in any crisis. His 
courage was unquestionable, lie was prompt in 
decision, but he had no strong character for 
good. It was not long until he had the oppor- 
tunity to be the central figure in truly dramatic 
events. 

King John seems to have had a presentiment 
of coming independence for Brazil. His last 
words to Dom Pedro were : "I fear Brazil 
before long will separate herself from Portu- 
gal ; if so, rather than allow the crown to fall to 
some adventurer, place it on thine own head." 
The Cortes adopted a grasping policy toward 
its big colony. They refused to listen to the 
Brazilian delegates in that body, abolished cer- 
tain of the provincial courts, changed the gov- 
ernors, and sent garrisons to the principal cit- 
ies. The attempt to transform Brazil again 
into the position of a province, after having 
been the sovereign country, aroused the whole 
of Brazil into indignant protest. It was looked 
upon as open insult. The spirit of rebellion, 
which had broken forth even before the depar- 
ture of the court, burst out with renewed en- 
ergy. The newspapers were filled with revolu- 
tionary editorials. When an order came for 



The Empire 



317 



the return of the popular young regent the peo- 
ple of Sao Paulo, Minas Geraes and other states 
spoke with an almost united voice against this 
impolitic measure. 

" How dare these deputies of Portugal de- 
prive Brazil of her privy council, her exchequer, 
her board of commerce, her court of requests, 
and so many other institutions which promise 
us such future benefits ? How dare they dis- 
member Brazil into isolated parts possessing no 
common centre of strength and union? How 
dare they deprive your Royal Highness of the 
regency with which your august father had in- 
vested you? " In response to this and similar 
appeals the young prince announced that he 
would remain in Brazil, and thus defy the Cor- 
tes. A ministry was formed at Rio to look after 
the interests of the country, although independ- 
ence had not been proclaimed. Jose Bonifacio, 
an energetic and able patriot, was made Prime 
Minister. No heed was paid to these rumblings 
by the Cortes, and that body continued to pass 
restrictive and unpopular measures. The Bra- 
zilian deputies finally withdrew in anger, and 
the Cortes sent armed reinforcements to Brazil. 
Dom Pedro issued a proclamation to the people 
urging resistance, and also called together a 



318 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



legislative assembly. The final summons of the 
Cortes for his return reached him near Sao 
Paulo, as he was returning from a hunt with 
a party of friends. Dramatically drawing his 
sword the regent shouted, " Independence or 
Death,' ' and this cry was taken up all over the 
country. On the 10th of October he was sol- 
emnly crowned as the Constitutional Emperor 
of Brazil, and announced that he would accept 
the constitution to be drawn up by the assembly 
soon to convene. The places held by Portu- 
guese troops soon after capitulated, and it was 
not long before peace had fallen over the entire 
new empire, although Portugal did not recog- 
nize her independence until 1825. 

The mutation had been accomplished with 
very little opposition. The Portuguese troops 
were soon withdrawn, and people began to 
breathe more freely. Dpm Pedro I, for this 
was his official title, had succeeded in doing 
what he desired; he had created a new empire 
with himself as the first legitimate monarch. 
He prided himself on establishing the first con- 
stitutional monarchy of his own free will. On 
every possible occasion he loudly proclaimed 
the beauties of the constitution and his own lib- 
eralism. His speech to the first constituent as- 



The Empire 



319 



sembly was of a different tone, and was as fol- 
lows : " I promise to adopt and defend the con- 
stitution which you may frame, if it should be 
worthy of Brazil and myself. We need a con- 
stitution that will be an insurmountable barrier 
against any invasion of the imperial preroga- 
tives." This announcement served to show a 
change of heart in the young ruler, and caused 
a storm of protest from members of the assem- 
bly who were looking forward to real liberty. 
They desired to curtail rather than enlarge im- 
perial privilege. The country was divided into 
two parties — liberal and conservative. The 
former party had been the leaders in the inde- 
pendent movement, and the Andrada brothers, 
members of that following, were in power. 
They were fiercely opposed to everything Por- 
tuguese, and were unscrupulous in dealing with 
personal enemies. Their policy soon ran coun- 
ter to that of the Emperor, and he summarily 
dismissed them. He appointed a conservative 
ministry, headed by the Marquis of Paranagua, 
and this ministry was unsatisfactory to the lib- 
erals, who had been inflamed by the dismissed 
Andradas. 

The assembly itself became very independent 
and ignored the requests and recommendations 



320 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of the Emperor. That royal personage himself 
and his Portuguese officers were attacked by 
both press and assembly. At last Dom Pedro 
arranged his troops in front of the house where 
the assembly met, and demanded the expulsion 
of the Andradas. When this was refused he 
enforced his demand, and immediately issued a 
proclamation dissolving the assembly, and de- 
ported a number of the members who were dis- 
tasteful to him. A new constitution was drawn 
up at the inspiration of the Emperor. This in- 
strument was promulgated as the fundamental 
law; but no congress was summoned, and the 
Emperor ruled by despotic law pure and simple. 
Ministers were appointed, and they soon re- 
signed or were removed. Opposition journals 
sprang up and flourished. Several states at the 
north attempted to secede and form the " Con- 
federation of the Equator," but this was sup- 
pressed by vigorous measures. A rebellion 
broke out in what is now Uruguay, and which 
had been claimed by Brazil. This led to war 
with Argentina, and a number of battles were 
fought between the troops of the two nations. 
This necessitated a large increase in the Bra- 
zilian debt, and the result was he had to ac- 
knowledge the independence of Uruguay. In 



The Empire 



321 



1826, by the death of his father, Dom Pedro 
succeeded to the throne of Portugal, but he 
immediately chose to remain in Brazil and 
abdicated in favour of his daughter Donna 
Maria. 

A congress was finally summoned by the Em- 
peror which met on the 3rd of May, 1826. At 
first this congress was timid and subservient; 
the second year it was less so, and by the third 
year it had the courage to openly defy the Em- 
peror. He insisted that their only duty was to 
pass laws to increase taxes, but they endeav- 
oured to make the ministries accountable to 
congress. In 1829 he dissolved this body, be- 
cause of its intractability. By that act he des- 
troyed the last remnant of his hold upon the 
public. The Brazilians were practically a unit 
against absolutism, and the native Portuguese, 
who upheld Dom Pedro, were in the great mi- 
nority. He appointed a liberal ministry, but 
that was a failure. He then designated one 
composed exclusively of senators, but the peo- 
ple resented this, for senators were appointed 
for life by the Crown. He made a journey 
through some of the provinces, but his recep- 
tion was unfriendly. Eiots broke forth on the 
streets of Rio. He appointed a new ministry 



322 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of reactionary tendencies, but that action failed 
to stem the tide. A mob composed of the best 
people of Rio assembled, and marched to the 
residence of the Emperor. The army and po- 
lice were with them in sympathy, and the troops 
guarding his person deserted him in this hour 
of need. His resignation was demanded, but as 
firmly refused. No indignity was offered his 
person, but the crowd refused to disperse. At 
last, very early in the morning, Dom Pedro 
relented, and wrote out an abdication in favour 
of his son, a lad of only five years. " I have 
voluntarily abdicated in favour of my dearly 
beloved and esteemed son, Dom Pedro de Al- 
cantara. I shall retire to Europe and leave a 
country that I have always loved and still love." 
These were the Emperor's words, written on 
the morning of the 8th of April, 1831. He im- 
mediately left Europe, where he died three 
years later, his life having been greatly short- 
ened by the many excesses to which he had 
yielded all his life. 

The expulsion of Dom Pedro I left the coun- 
try in an unsettled condition. Revolutionary 
talk was in the air and no one knew what a day 
might bring forth. Because of the extreme 
youth of the new Emperor, Congress met and 



The Empire 



323 



selected a provisional regency consisting of 
three members. Trouble soon arose in Bahia, 
Pernambuco and Para, and Rio seemed ready 
for civil war. The regency had no real ascend- 
ency and petty jealousies soon arose. In this 
crisis a patriot priest, Padre Diago Antonio 
Feijo, who had been a leader of democratic 
opinion, was given absolute power. He was a 
man of firm will and prompt execution. By his 
decisiveness all disorders in the capital were 
soon quelled. Only isolated disorders arose 
which were prompted by ambitious local poli- 
ticians. In the provinces pronunciamentos were 
issued in high sounding language, and the popu- 
lace were greatly aroused. These local disaffec- 
tions sometimes gained considerable headway 
because of the slowness of communication. As 
one writer puts it, " the words ' liberty ' and 
i local rights,' 1 constitutionalism * and ' union 9 
were overworked in speeches and proclama- 
tions.' ? In Para, for instance, two hundred 
people were killed in one night 's fighting. Ceara 
was in anarchy for several months and Maran- 
hao kept up a civil war for a whole winter. 
Padre Feijo was an orator and a man of un- 
swerving integrity, and soon made his influence 
felt, for he was respected as well. When the 



324 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



regency was made elective he was chosen by 
the electors. His one weakness was an un- 
yielding disposition which could not harmonize 
the discordant elements, and he finally resigned. 
His successors did not do as well as the priest, 
who had, at least, left a record of integrity, if 
he had been somewhat high handed in his meth- 
ods of overcoming opposition. The ten years 
of the regency had been about the stormiest 
period in the history of Brazil. Although the 
Emperor would not be of legal age until 1843, 
at the age of eighteen, a strong demand went 
forth for him to take charge at once. Though 
this was unconstitutional, no one seriously ob- 
jected, and he agreed to accept the responsibil- 
ity. Hence it was, in 1840, at the age of fifteen 
years, Dom Pedro II ascended the throne of 
Brazil, and administered the country for almost 
half a century. 

The new Emperor was the antithesis of his 
father in tastes and disposition. Whereas the 
father was a sportsman, the son was a student 
and an omnivorous reader. The first Pedro 
was a man of the world, the second was the 
inverse. He was a conscientious monarch, and 
aimed to decide all questions justly. He was 
respectful toward religion, but the priesthood 



The Empire 



325 



had no hold upon him. Like his father he was 
democratic in his manners, but was negligent in 
his dress and cared naught for the glitter of a 
court. He would rather read a favourite author 
than preside over a state dinner. He kept his 
ear to the ground, and thus generally knew the 
state of public opinion. The people loved him, 
and it was this fact alone that forefended a 
republic for so many years. They sometimes 
laughed at his eccentricities, but they respected 
his opinion ; they had confidence in the honesty 
of his purpose, which was a sincere compliment 
to him. 

Both internal and external peace generally 
reigned during the rule of Dom Pedro II. Rio 
Grande do Sul, that independent and ebullient 
province, remained in arms for several years, 
and it was not thoroughly subjected until 1845. 
This civil war had lasted ten years. The gov- 
ernment aided Uruguay in her fight against the 
Argentine dictator, Rosas, but emerged from 
this fight with a number of advantages gained. 
The worst war in which Dom Pedro II engaged 
was the one waged with Paraguay, from 1865 
to 1870. 

This little republic was under the domination 
of a dictator by the name of Lopez, who, because 



326 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



of some fancied affront, attacked a Brazilian 
steamer passing up the Paraguay River. Lopez 
followed this up by an expedition into Matto 
Grosso, and easily conquered the southern por- 
tion of that province. Soon afterwards Lopez 
declared war against Argentina, and Uruguay 
was also interjected into the struggle. Thus 
Lopez was fighting the three republics lone- 
handed, each of which was more powerful than 
his own; but Brazil was scattered, Argentina 
was not homogeneous and Uruguay was disinte- 
grated into political factions. Furthermore, 
Paraguay was difficult of access, especially for 
Brazil, and the war dragged along several 
years. Lopez pushed every advantage and, by 
the very boldness of his initiative, seemed to 
carry everything before him at first. Sangui- 
nary battles were fought on Brazilian soil on 
several occasions. The Duke of Caxias was 
finally made commander in chief. This new 
commander was very slow in making his prepa- 
rations, but the tide soon turned after he got 
in the field. The audacious dictator was gradu- 
ally driven in; he was at last defeated and 
slain. 

This did not supervene until nearly every 
man in Paraguay was slain or disabled. Brazil 



The Empire 



327 



gained absolutely nothing. She piled np a debt 
of $300,000,000. and lost over fifty thousand 
much-needed citizens. Argentina and Uruguay 
profited, but Brazil, after bearing the brunt of 
the fighting and the lion's share of the expense, 
realized no substantial result. 

During the entire reign of Dom Pedro II 
there was a ceaseless conflict going on between 
the liberal and conservative factions. At first 
the former gained the ascendency, but they 
failed to enact the expected reforms, so a con- 
servative cabinet was named. The rise in the 
value of coffee and other profitable crops 
brought in an era of prosperity, which con- 
tinued the conservatives in power for many 
years. Liberty of speech was unquestioned 
under this emperor, arbitrary imprisonment 
had ceased, property rights were respected and 
the administration of justice had been much 
meliorated. Bribery ceased to be done openly, 
as had been the custom before. In 1850 an epi- 
demic of yellow fever in Bio spread consterna- 
tion over the land so that even Congress ad- 
journed in terror. Bailways were inaugurated, 
wealth increased and luxury followed. Then 
came a financial crisis, and the defeat of the 
conservatives followed. Another boom sue- 



328 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



ceeded a short period of depression, and, about 
the close of our own civil war, Brazil had easily 
made the most progress of any of the nations 
of South America. The mass of the people, 
however, were not only apathetic but ignorant ; 
they lacked initiative and energy. 

Thus it was that events drifted along with 
intermittent periods of prosperity and depres- 
sion. The conservatives would be in power a 
short time, to be followed by the liberals. The 
Emperor retained his personal popularity, but 
his daughter, the Countess d'Eu, heir to the 
throne, was not so popular. During the Em- 
peror's visit to the United States and Europe, 
in 1876, she served as regent. The general be- 
lief that she was too much under the influence 
of the priesthood made the people fear her pos- 
sible accession to the throne, in the event of the 
Emperor's death or disability. There was evi- 
dently a weakening of Dom Pedro's mental 
powers. Because of his ill health he left the 
power of state with her while he went abroad 
in search of relief. • During this regency events 
transpired that brought about the change from 
empire to republic, and the enfeebled old em- 
peror was forced to leave the country to which 
he had given the best years of his life. The 



The Empire 



329 



change could not have been long delayed, how- 
ever, for Brazil was surrounded by republics, 
republicanism permeated the atmosphere, and 
the spirit of republican institutions was every- 
where abroad in the land. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE KEPUBLIC 



Three things contributed to the change of 
government in Brazil from empire to republic. 
The first of these was the natural trend toward 
a republican form of government, since for 
more than a half a century Brazil had been sur- 
rounded by republics. During that time she had 
been the only representative of the monarchical 
system on the American continent. The Em- 
peror himself had recognized the inevitable, if 
one may judge from his expressions. Had Dom 
Pedro at that time been in good health, he would 
doubtless have recognized the handwriting on 
the wall and voluntarily abdicated. Those who 
were disappointed in politics, or had a fancied 
grievance, belonged to this republican element, 
as it was the only thing that promised a change. 
The second contributing cause was the fear of 
clerical domination in the event the government 
fell to the Princess Isabel, daughter of the 
second Dom Pedro and heir to the throne. That 

330 



The Republic 



331 



she was a devout and sincere member of the 
Church of Rome there was no doubt; and this 
made the people fear an undue influence by the 
priests, although she had during the regencies 
done no overt act. Her personality was a sharp 
contrast to that of the amiable Emperor, for, 
where he was simple and unaffected, she was 
autocratic and reserved. Her husband, the 
Conde d'Eu, was cold in demeanour, close-fisted 
in money matters and a foreigner — the latter 
being a point that the Brazilians had never been 
quite able to overlook. If the count had been a 
Portuguese nobleman the feeling toward him 
might possibly have been different. The third 
and strongest reason was the abolition of sla- 
very, which had been urged from the throne 
by the crown princess the year before. 

In order to fully understand the slavery situ- 
ation it is necessary to go back a number of 
decades in the history of the country. At the 
beginning of the 19th century there were per- 
haps two million of negro slaves in Brazil. 
From about that period the movement for the 
abolition of slaves began to make headway. 
Strong and influential men arose in a number 
of different states and advocated the gradual 
eradication of this practice, by freeing all chil- 



332 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



dren of slave mothers after a certain age had 
been reached. It was not, however, until 1830, 
and after much agitation, that the importation 
of slaves was made illegal ; and for many years 
after this there was a large clandestine infil- 
tration of blacks. The Emperor was at heart 
an abolitionist and favoured the movement as 
much as he dared. The law of 1830 proving 
ineffectual, in 1854 a vigorous statute was en- 
acted suppressing the ingress of slaves and this 
was strenuously enforced. At this time the 
slaves numbered two million five hundred thou- 
sand, nearly forty per cent, of the population. 
The breaking out of the Paraguayan war 
checked the trend of the abolition movement, 
but at its close, in 1870, it sprang up again more 
strongly than ever. In the following year the 
so-called Rio Branco ordinance was passed, 
which declared that all children of slave moth- 
ers should be free after their majority, as this 
service should pay for their rearing and edu- 
cation. Proprietors were required to register 
all slaves. This concession did not satisfy a 
large element. In a few years a powerful party 
arose which demanded the immediate manu- 
mission of all slaves, and this party numbered 
among its adherents some of the strongest men 



The Republic 



333 



in Brazil. Slavery was abolished in the states 
of Amazonas and Ceara. A further bill, passed 
by the national assembly, declared all slaves 
over the age of sixty years free, on condition 
that they served their masters for three more 
years, and established a scale of low redemp- 
tion prices by which the slaves could purchase 
their freedom. Eio de Janeiro was the centre 
of the abolition movement, and Sao Paulo of 
the slave-holders ' strength. Many wealthy and 
influential slaveholders in the latter state vol- 
untarily unshackled all their slaves for the sake 
of principle. 

Encouraged by the state of public opinion, 
thousands of slaves voluntarily left the estates, 
and the officials generally refused aid in secur- 
ing their return. So rapidly did the number 
of those held in bondage decrease that, by 1887, 
there were only seven hundred and forty-three 
thousand slaves in the whole empire, a little 
more than one-fourth of the number a quarter 
of a century previous. When the Congress met 
in May, 1888, the speech from the throne an- 
nounced that 1 i the imperial programme was ab- 
solute, immediate and uncompensated emanci- 
pation.' ' A bill was introduced which con- 
tained the following two short articles : 



334 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



I. Slavery in Brazil is declared extinct. 

II. All acts to the contrary are revoked. 
Within eight days the bill had passed both 

honses, had been signed by the princess and was 
the law of the country. The votes against it 
w^ere hardly numerous enough to be worth the 
counting. By this act the strongest upholders 
of the monarchy were alienated. 

The rejoicings were confined almost exclu- 
sively to the labouring classes, who believed 
this change would better their condition. Those 
injured, the great plantation owners, made no 
open demonstration, but the seeds of sedition 
were sown. The ambitious group of military 
officers, who probably saw a chance of personal 
aggrandizement in a change of government, 
realized their opportunity approaching. Sao 
Paulo was the hotbed of the disaffection, for the 
big coffee planters of the state felt the loss of 
slaves more than any other class. Furthermore 
that state was the home of a group of influential 
men who were republicans from principle. 
"When the Emperor returned from Europe in 
August, 1888, an immense reception was organ- 
ized for him; and that man, whose mental 
powers and perceptions were not so keen as 
formerly, failed to discern the uneasy feeling 



The Republic 



335 



underlying the surface. And yet the plot was 
then well in hand for the final overthrow of 
monarchical conditions, as soon as a favourable 
opportunity presented itself. 

It was not until 1884 that any avowedly re- 
publican members were elected to the national 
assembly, and then three were chosen, two of 
whom afterward filled the office of president. 
Benjamin Constant, a professor in the military 
school, in his teachings' had spread republican 
doctrines among the younger officers of the 
army, and insubordination followed in certain 
quarters. The ministry seemed impotent 
against the power of the army. The princess 
was still disliked, and her husband, the Conde 
d'Eu, more so, and the Emperor was in failing 
health. It had been generally understood by 
both parties that nothing would be done during 
the lifetime of the Emperor. The regency of 
the princess had, however, become prolonged 
and unpopular. As the army became disaf- 
fected the conde had endeavoured to form a 
new Imperial Guard of Honour to protect the 
throne. A plan was also formulated to send 
the entire army away in detachments to various 
parts of the republic, and this was to be done 
on the 15th of November. It was also rumoured 



336 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



that the Emperor would again place the power 
of state in his daughter's hands. On the 14th 
the report became current that Constant and 
Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca would be ar- 
rested. The ministry did not sleep that night, 
as rumours had reached it that a part of the 
army at least would resist removal. 

The republicans were busy too, and, early in 
the morning, a brigade of the army drew up in 
front of the War Department, and a peremp- 
tory demand was sent to the cabinet to sur- 
render. Eesistance was useless, for the whole 
army was estranged. Consequently the entire 
cabinet telegraphed their resignations to the 
Emperor at Petropolis. This reached the Em- 
peror just as he was leaving the imperial 
chapel, where he had attended mass. Dom 
Pedro started for Bio immediately, which place 
he reached in the middle of the afternoon. By 
this time the revolutionary chiefs had met and 
organized a provisional government, having 
named themselves as ministers, with General 
Deodoro da Fonseca as president. A manifesto 
was promulgated and given to the public pro- 
claiming a republic. The senate, which had 
been a life position heretofore, was declared 
abolished and Congress was dissolved. On the 



The Republic 



337 



night of the 14th the city of Eio de Janeiro had 
indulged in a celebration, and the Emperor was 
an honoured guest. On the following evening 
he was again a guest of the city, but practically 
a prisoner, for a republic had been proclaimed. 
The Emperor was notified that he and his fam- 
ily would be compelled to leave within twenty- 
four hours, but that their lives would be pro- 
tected, and ample financial provision made for 
them. On the night of the 16th all the royal 
family were placed on board a steamer bound 
for Lisbon. The Emperor died at Paris on the 
5th of December, 1891. 

The countess still resides in France with her 
three sons. The eldest of these, the prince 
imperial, arrived at Eio de Janeiro a few years 
ago with the intention of making a visit to the 
land of his birth. The federal authorities re- 
fused permission for him to land, as they feared 
his presence might result in a disturbance. 

The opportune time for the republic had no 
doubt arrived, for the country at large accepted 
this radical change with the greatest indiffer- 
ence. Those who were not satisfied at least 
kept still and decided to await developments. 
Outspoken monarchists were nowhere to be 
found. A military dictatorship followed with 



338 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



many of its evils. Most of the governors of the 
various provinces announced their submission 
to the new regime, but the old officers of the 
monarchy were rapidly supplanted by republi- 
can sympathizers or officers of the army. This 
provincial government lasted for fourteen 
months, and effectually succeeded in making 
itself very unpopular. In that time a series of 
laws were promulgated covering almost every 
phase of government. The provinces were or- 
ganized into states after the model of the 
United States of America, church and state 
were formally separated, civil marriage was 
established. Suffrage was made universal with 
an educational qualification only, and many 
judicial reforms were inaugurated. The green 
and yellow flag of the empire was retained 
although a considerable change in the design 
was made, and the imperial crown was elimi- 
nated from everything governmental. The re- 
public was recognized by the United States in 
a little over two months, and by the other prin- 
cipal nations shortly afterward. 

The first serious dissatisfaction arose out of 
delay in calling an election for a new Senate 
and House of Deputies. This was finally held, 
and the Congress met in Rio on the 15th of 



The Republic 



339 



November, 1890. A constitution which is pat- 
terned very closely after that of the United 
States was adopted with few changes. One of 
the provisions was that the first president and 
vice-president should be elected by the Con- 
gress, and not by popular suffrage. Marshal 
Deodoro da Fonseca was chosen President, re- 
ceiving eleven more than a majority, and Mar- 
shal Floriano Peixoto was selected for vice- 
president. The President, being a military man 
both by education and training, the government 
continued military in fact, for the constitution 
did not bother the new executive very much. 
During the provisional government the banks 
had been conceded the right to issue circulating 
notes, and the country was soon flooded with 
these promissory obligations. Credit was easy 
and a speculative boom followed. The amount 
of money in circulation had almost doubled in 
a few months, and exchange began to fall. Con- 
gress viewed this condition with alarm and 
passed measures restricting the issue of paper 
money. The President vetoed this and other 
bills. A law was passed nullifying the veto, and 
then the President forcibly dissolved the Con- 
gress. Eio was declared in a state of siege, 
constitutional guarantees were suspended and 



340 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



martial law evulgated. These measures pro- 
claimed the President as a dictator. In Para 
armed resistance arose; the State of Eio 
Grande do Sul openly revolted against Presi- 
dent Deodoro, and he was nnable to put it down. 
The revolutionists announced that they were 
ready to " march to Eio and depose the dicta- 
tor.' ' The navy and most of the army declared 
against the President and he finally resigned 
in favour of the vice-president, in November, 
1891. The first president was an able man in 
many ways. He had distinguished himself in 
the Paraguayan war, and had held a number of 
responsible positions, which he filled with 
credit. He was too unyielding, however, and 
his ideas of strong and inflexible rule did not 
harmonize with those of others almost equally 
powerful. 

President Floriano had his troubles from the 
very beginning. Those opposed to a military 
man for executor endeavoured to force the elec- 
tion of a new president, but Floriano announced 
his determination to serve the term for which 
he had been elected. He abrogated the decree 
of his predecessor dissolving congress, and that 
body at once reassembled. The relations be- 
tween the executive and legislative branches of 



The Republic 



341 



the government were smooth at first. The year 
1903, however, opened with ominous murmur- 
ings, with rumours of revolutions and conspir- 
acies. The only effect this had upon President 
Floriano was to make him still more severe and 
arbitrary. Rebellions broke out in Eio Grande 
do Sul again, and also in Matto Grosso. The 
former insurrection lasted for three years, but 
the latter was more quickly subdued. 

In September, 1893, the entire navy under 
Admiral Mello, who had been Minister of Ma- 
rine, revolted. The Admiral issued a pronun- 
ciamento, of which the following is a part, and 
is a fair sample of the whole : ' ' The President 
of the Republic has armed Brazilians against 
Brazilians; and he has raised legions of so- 
called patriots, spreading mourning, want and 
desolation in every nook and corner of the Re- 
public, for the sole purpose of gratifying his 
personal caprices and strengthening and per- 
petuating the supremacy of his tyrannical dic- 
tatorship. Promising to be the sentinel of the 
Treasury, the President has perjured himself 
and deceived the nation, opening with sacri- 
legious hand the public exchequer to a policy of 
bribery and corruption, thus abusing the au- 
thority which, in an evil hour, the revolution 



342 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



placed in his hands." The admiral, who had 
been joined by some members of Congress and 
other prominent civilians, threatened to bom- 
bard the city, but President Floriano acted 
quickly and manned, as well as strengthened, 
all the fortifications in the harbour. The ad- 
miral demanded the President's resignation 
within six hours, and that official flatly refused 
and defied the naval squadron. 

Congress stood by the President in this crisis 
and voted him funds. Eio and Nictheroy were 
declared in a state of siege. Mello fired a few 
shots at the city, which did considerable dam- 
age, but did not venture to carry out his threat 
to bombard it. He finally escaped with the 
Aquiddban and an armed transport, the Espe- 
ranca, and sailed for Eio Grande do Sul to join 
the insurrectionists in that quarter of the re- 
public, where a provisional government had 
been set up. Admiral Saldanha da Gama was 
left in charge of the insurgent fleet. A few 
months later Mello returned northward with 
the Aquiddban to Eio, but did not join the other 
vessels in the harbour there. Admiral da Gama 
attempted to establish a blockade, but the Amer- 
ican Admiral Benham would not permit this, 
claiming it was an unjustifiable interruption of 



The Republic 



343 



commerce. An attempt was made to capture 
the land forts and a sanguinary engagement 
ensued in which over eight hundred men were 
killed and wounded. Soon afterwards the in- 
surgents lost several vessels which were sunk 
by government shells. The naval revolt finally 
collapsed in March, 1894, but the commander, 
Admiral da Gama, escaped on board a Portu- 
guese man-of-war and joined the other admiral 
in the south. This guerilla war in the south 
lasted until 1895 ; and it was not until several 
thousand lives had been sacrificed and much 
property destroyed that the beef eaters of the 
turbulent southernmost state yielded, and a 
peace was once more restored which has lasted 
to this day. President Floriano was very severe 
with the rebels who were captured, and scores 
of them were shot. In fact, for a while, whole- 
sale slaughter of fellow Brazilians followed. 
Persons who were simply suspected of being 
implicated in the rebellion were arrested and 
shot down. 

The people were weary of military rule and, 
at the election in March, 1894, it was generally 
understood that a civil president should be 
chosen. President Floriano himself advocated 
this and practically selected his successor, Dr. 



344 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Prudente Jose de Moraes Barros. A few 
months after his term of office expired the ex- 
president passed away, as had his successor, 
just a little while after his enforced resignation. 

Bepublican ideas and principles made a great 
advance when Dr. Moraes was inaugurated as 
president, on the 15th of November, 1894. He 
was a lawyer by profession, and a native of the 
progressive state of Sao Paulo; was a little 
past fifty years of age, and from the earliest 
days of his career had been an ardent advocate 
of republican principles. Furthermore, the new 
President was opposed to the use of force in 
enforcing public administration. He had been 
a member of the provisional government of his 
state, and was the first governor of that state 
under the republic, as well as the first president 
of the national senate.. He lived a simple life, 
free from all ostentation, and his straightfor- 
wardness and integrity brought to him the re- 
spect of all classes of Brazilians. Thus it was 
with a thorough equipment that this new 
civilian President met the responsible duties of 
his high office. The revolutionists insisted that 
the election was invalid, on the ground that no 
voting had taken place in the states of Eio 
Grande do Sul, Santa Catharina and Parana, 



The Republic 



345 



although they had no objection to the new Presi- 
dent personally. After peace was restored the 
President granted amnesty to all who had borne 
arms against the republic. 

The natural consequence of the early days of 
extravagance began to be felt. The national 
and state government seemed to have vied with 
each other in multiplying the number of official 
employees, and in spending money on public 
buildings and other works. To meet the defic- 
its paper money had been issued, and now the 
effects of this, together with the fall in the price 
of coffee, were being experienced by the nation 
at large, and retrenchment became necessary. 
Enemies both in official and private circles 
grew up. The ruling party became split over 
retrenchment policies, and an attempt was made 
to assassinate the President in broad daylight, 
which, it was strongly believed, was the result 
of a political plot. He would have been killed, 
had not a brave general thrown himself in front 
of the President and received the fatal wound 
himself. The effect of this conspiracy was to 
increase the admiration of the people for the 
President, and to condemn the methods of his 
enemies. An insurrection arose in the state of 
Bahia which required federal assistance; and 



346 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



this was believed by many to be backed by 
monarchical sympathizers, for it required an 
army of several thousand to quell it. A coup 
d'etat which had been planned early in 1897 by 
the vice-president, who was in power during the 
temporary absence of the President to recuper- 
ate his health, and who was backed by the dis- 
contented military, was nipped in the bud by 
his sudden and unexpected return to the capi- 
tal. The boundary line with Argentina was 
settled during his administration, by the arbi- 
tration of President Cleveland who determined 
the contention in favour of Brazil. 

In this way the four years of President 
Moraes's term of office passed by, and Dr. 
Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, also a civilian 
and a lawyer, was chosen as his successor. An 
empty treasury, a country practically without 
credit, and a commercial crisis are the condi- 
tions that confronted the new President. A 
little later the Bank of the Eepublic failed, and 
this dragged down to ruin many commercial 
enterprises as well as a number of smaller 
banks. The President attacked these various 
financial problems with great energy and con- 
siderable shrewdness. The payment of interest 
on the public debt, which had been suspended 



The Republic 



347 



for three years, was resumed, and the value of 
the money slowly began to rise. He managed 
by great shrewdness and tact to maintain his 
ascendency over the turbulent majority in Con- 
gress. The only complaints were because of 
the increase of taxes which were found neces- 
sary by his administration. They were able to 
show, however, why the money was needed and 
where it went. During his term another 
troublesome boundary question with France, 
over the southern limits of French Guiana, was 
settled. The dispute included a territory larger 
than Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and was sub- 
mitted to the arbitration of the Swiss govern- 
ment and the entire tract, except three thousand 
square miles, was awarded to Brazil. There 
were no outside wars or internal revolutions 
during the term of Dr. Campos Salles, and he 
retired at the end of his term to his home town 
of Sao Paulo, where he still lives and enjoys 
the confidence and regard of his fellow citizens. 

The third civil President, who took office in 
1902, was Dr. Francisco de Paulo Eodrigues 
Alves, also a Paulista, like his two immediate 
predecessors. He was elected peaceably, hav- 
ing been practically named by his predecessor. 
He found the condition of the government very 



348 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



much better than that individual had, for the 
finances were much improved. President Rod- 
rigues Alves announced as his program the 
improvement of the sanitary conditions at Rio, 
and better shipping facilities. The transforma- 
tion of that city, which has been elsewhere de- 
scribed, was the work of this administration 
and it remains as a monument to him. More 
than a thousand houses were torn down to make 
room for the improvements, and many millions 
of dollars were expended, but they were well 
spent. When the port works are completed, 
which were started by this administration, Rio 
will have a stone quay more than two miles in 
length. A special impost of two per cent, gold 
on all imports into that part was levied to pay 
for these improvements, and the government 
had no difficulty in floating loans to secure the 
money. 

Another dispute over boundary, which had 
long been the cause of friction with Bolivia, 
was settled during the term of President Rod- 
rigues Alves. This was concerning the Acre 
tract, which includes some of the richest rubber 
forests in the world. Brazil secured the land 
on the payment of $10,000,000, and an agree- 
ment to construct a railroad which would give 



The Republic 



349 



Bolivia an outlet to the Amazon. It was in this 
territory that some American adventurers 
sought to set up a little independent kingdom. 
Several other serious boundary demarkations 
were likewise determined during his term of 
office. It was during his administration that 
the Pan American congress was held in Rio, 
which was the occasion of the visit of Secretary 
Root to that country, and which aided much in 
strengthening the friendly ties between the two 
countries. The consideration shown the Amer- 
ican representative was remarkable. With the 
exception of a couple of little revolts which were 
really no more significant than strikes in our 
own land which sometimes require the assist- 
ance of federal troops, the administration of 
President Rodrigues Alves was marked by 
peace. He had filled many public positions and 
retired from office respected by all, and still 
lives to enjoy his honours. 

In 1906 Dr. Alfonso Augusto Moreira Penna 
was elected President, having served as vice- 
president under the previous administration. 
He was a native of the state of Minas Geraes, 
and had served as president (governor, we 
would say) of that state. President Penna 
made a tour of the states before his inaugura- 



350 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



tion and endeavoured to familiarize himself 
with their needs. His administration is too 
recent to be able to generalize it. All to whom 
I spoke, however, had only good words to say 
for President Penna and his aims. He desired 
to reform the currency by establishing a gold 
conversion fund. Under plans formulated by 
him and his advisers the government has made 
considerable progress along that line, and has 
gradually been adding to its gold reserve. His 
career was ended by death on the 14th of June, 
1909, having served less than three years of his 
term, and being in the 62nd year of his age. 

The duties of government fell upon the vice- 
president, Dr. Nilo Pecanha, who immediately 
entered upon the discharge of that office. Presi- 
dent Peganha is a native of the state of Eio de 
Janeiro, and was a noted lawyer in that state 
before his elevation to the vice-presidency. 
Although only thirty-nine years of age when 
elected to that office he had held numerous of- 
fices in his own state, including that of repre- 
sentative, president and national senator from 
that state. By reason of the constitutional in- 
hibition he was prohibited from being his own 
successor to the office of president. 

At the election held in March, 1910, Marshal 



The Republic 



351 



Hermes da Fonseca was elected for the presi- 
dential term beginning the 15th of November, 
1910. For the first time in the history of the 
republic there was an active campaign in which 
two candidates, Dr. Euy Barbosa, an able law- 
yer, gifted orator and a civilian, opposed 
Marshal Hermes, on the ground that he repre- 
sented the military element which had proven 
so unfortunate in the first few years of the 
republic. From the very beginning the trend 
was toward the Marshal, the States of Sao 
Paulo, Bahia, the home of Dr. Barbosa, and a 
part of Minas Geraes alone holding aloof from 
his banner. Nevertheless, a vigorous campaign 
was waged, which cannot help but be educa- 
tional, for it gave the voters an opportunity 
they had never had before — that of choosing 
between two candidates. The newly-elected 
President was born in 1855, and began his mili- 
tary career at the early age of sixteen. He has 
successively passed through the various grades 
until he reached his present rank in 1906. He is 
considered an authority on military matters, 
and served as Minister of War in the last ad- 
ministration. There are those who fear the re- 
turn of a military man to the office of chief 
magistrate, but the result can not be told in 



352 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



advance. As a citizen he stands high, and it 
is to be hoped that his administration will re- 
dound to the credit of Brazil. 

With the single exception of the forced resig- 
nation of President Deodoro, each president has 
been allowed to serve his term, and his succes- 
sor has been peaceably installed in the presiden- 
tial chair. The semi-independence of the states 
has made those political organizations far too 
important in the Federal Union, and in many 
instances it has rendered local administration 
cumbersome and costly. During the past three 
presidential terms there have been no serious 
disturbances, and the government has made 
great advances in the method of administration. 
The elections are still arbitrary and, perhaps, 
in many instances unfair, but the civil presi- 
dents have been men of character, and some of 
them have retired from office far poorer than 
they went in. 



CHAPTEE XVIII 



A LAND OF PROMISE 

Wanted: ten million immigrants. 

This is the cry that comes up from this great 
republic, for Brazil to-day possesses the great- 
est amount of undeveloped fertile land that is 
to be found in the world. The republic is still 
in the process of creation, but, when all the la- 
tent possibilities are uncovered, it will be a 
towering giant. It is in the same condition that 
the United States was three-quarters of a cen- 
tury ago. Now we have about thirty inhabit- 
ants to the square mile, while Brazil has less 
than six. If the workers go there, Brazil will 
be one of the greatest sources of food supply 
in the whole world long before the end of this 
present century. There is scarcely an article, 
useful either for food or raiment, that cannot 
profitably be raised within its borders. Great 
states, which are empires in themselves, are as 
well qualified for the abode of the white man 
as many of the commonwealths within Uncle 

353 



354 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



Sam's borders. The heat is not such a bugaboo 
as many endeavour to portray it, for the Amer- 
icans who live there do not complain of it at all. 
There are millions of untilled acres which, 
sooner or later, will be centres of industry and 
activity. This development will be difficult with 
individual effort, and it will be necessary for 
colonies to be formed with sufficient capital for 
aggressive work. On the Amazon, for instance, 
nature is too productive, too prolific, for iso- 
lated effort. It needs united and constant work 
and push to conquer. When once conquered, 
however, this very prodigality and fecundity 
will reward human effort, and wealth will 
follow. If the engineer builds a railroad, the 
tropical rains wash away the embankment; if 
the colonist turns his back on his clearing for a 
few months it becomes covered with a heavy 
growth; telegraph poles and fence posts put 
forth green leaves, and railroad ties have been 
known to sprout in the rainy season. 

Will this conquest of the tropics become nec- 
essary? If the doleful predictions of Mr. J. J. 
Hill and others are true, the United States will 
soon become an importer, rather than an ex- 
porter, of food supplies, and other sources must 
be looked to and new virgin lands developed. 



A Land of Promise 



355 



We find that in spite of the rapid development 
of Argentina and Canada, food supplies are 
advancing by leaps and bounds, and every theo- 
rist is looking for a solution. Science has pro- 
vided means for overcoming the sources of 
pollution found in the tropics, and the develop- 
ment can now take place under healthful condi- 
tions. Brazil is awaiting that effort. Social 
conditions may seem to be an obstacle; but a 
colony can practically establish its own social 
conditions, and need not be bothered to any 
great extent by those surrounding it. Brazil is 
the only country in South America where 
church and state have been formally separated, 
and this is a good indication of progress, for 
any form of religion may be practised without 
fear of disturbance. 

Brazil is a very expensive country in which 
to live as well as travel. Nearly every article 
used in the house is imported, and the import 
duties are very high. Not only that, but the 
tradesmen expect an exorbitant profit in many 
instances. A pair of American shoes costing 
not to exceed $4.00 in the States will retail here 
for $10.00. An American who lives there came 
back from a visit to the States and brought back 
with him, among other articles, a rug and a 



356 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



piano. The rug cost him $20.00 in New York, 
and the duty amounted to $26.00. I did not 
learn what the piano was worth, but it cost him 
nearly $200.00 to get it through the customs. 
All goods for ladies' wear and men's furnish- 
ing are sold at correspondingly high prices. 

Table supplies are very high also. Most of 
the grocery sundries are imported and bring 
good prices. Even the produce of the country 
is dear. Vegetables in the market sell as high 
as with us, while fruit, in this land which nature 
endowed so richly for fruit culture, is sold al- 
most if not entirely as high as in New York. 
Beef is the one item that is comparatively 
cheap. Butter retails at 50 cents and upward 
a pound, eggs at 35 and 40 cents a dozen in the 
summer season, and all kinds of poultry for the 
table are correspondingly high. Cafe prices are 
expensive, except for the little cups of coffee, 
and it is a mystery to me how the majority of 
the people live, for wages are not nearly so 
good as in the United States. Rent is another 
expensive item, so that it must take every dollar 
the average man earns to keep up, and he can- 
not have anything left for a savings account. 

The American drummer has been down this 
way with some lines of American goods. 



A Land of Promise 



357 



Through windows, where lovers have whispered 
sweet words to willing ears for centuries, there 
comes the busy clatter of the American sewing 
machine; on the coffee plantations, and even 
in the rubber camps, Indians, negroes and 
whites listen to the quavering, and ofttimes gra- 
ting tones, of the American phonograph; in 
stores where the shopkeeper and clerk sit list- 
lessly, as though not caring whether you buy or 
not, the cash is guarded by the unerring treas- 
urer, the American cash register, and the 
goods are oftentimes weighed on an American 
computing scale; dark-eyed and dark-complex- 
ioned men pound at the keys of American type- 
writers, and the machine is sometimes as erring 
in its spelling of Portuguese as English in our 
own land ; American farming implements may 
be seen rusting in the weather, just as they are 
neglected by our farmers in Oklahoma and 
Kansas ; children are sometimes hauled around 
in little American perambulators or express 
wagons, and cans, which have held the products 
of the great oil trust, are now used to carry 
water from the public fountains. The Yankee 
medicine-man has been here, although the famil- 
iar terms of " pink pills for pale people," and 
other household words, are scarcely recogniz- 



358 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



able when translated into Portuguese. On the 
bill-boards and on walls that are centuries old, 
and there are many, one will see the familiar 
picture of a boy with a mountain codfish on his 
back, and the message that this medicine will 
lay flesh on the back of the thinnest Brazilian. 
American windmills turn around at the beckon- 
ing of the Atlantic breezes, and American-built 
engines pull the high-tariffed freight over the 
tortuous curves of the Brazilian railways. 

Although the United States purchases almost 
one-third of the total exports of Brazil, yet we 
send to Brazil only one-tenth of the imports, 
and rank third in importance. This is, of 
course, due to the fact that it has only been 
within the last few years that the United States 
has developed into a great exporting country. 
It is due further to the fact that American man- 
ufacturers have not studied the markets, as 
have those of other countries; England and 
Germany in particular. British and German 
banks have branches in Bio, Bahia, Pernam- 
buco, Para, Manaos, Sao Paulo, Santos, and 
Porto Alegre, and these banks are great aids 
to business men from these countries. Further- 
more, all of these banks make money and pay 
large dividends to their stockholders. At pres- 



A Land of Promise 359 



ent there is no American bank in the country, 
or in all of South America for that matter, 
while Americans living and travelling there are 
all urging the establishment of such an institu- 
tion. Personally, I believe that it would be a 
successful enterprise, if conducted along the 
lines pursued at home, for the methods of the 
banks working there are slow and tedious, and 
it requires a half hour to do what should be 
done in five minutes. 

Another advantage of Europe has been in the 
matter of transportation. There are several 
English, German, French, Italian and Spanish 
lines, which run fine passenger steamers to 
Europe, thus giving service every few days to 
that continent, and affording quick transporta- 
tion for freight. In addition there are many 
more boats, called intermediate steamers, which 
also carry passengers, but are slower boats and 
make a specialty of cargo. It is no longer nec- 
essary, however, to go to Brazil by the way of 
Europe, for it takes much longer and is no more 
comfortable. The Lamport and Holt Line 
maintain a bi-weekly line of steamers between 
New York, Bahia, Eio and Santos, and they 
have some excellent boats in service. The 
Vasari, on which I travelled, is as comfortable 



360 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



as any of the European boats, and has accom- 
modation for a large number of first-class pas- 
sengers. They make the trip from New York 
to Rio in sixteen to seventeen days, which is 
about the same time as the best boats from 
Southampton and Cherbourg, so that the pas- 
senger saves the time consumed in the trans- 
atlantic voyage. I would like to see the United 
States adopt the policy of encouraging a line of 
boats to the South American ports either by 
subsidy or payment for better mail service, so 
that there would be not only a more frequent 
but a quicker service. It is a mistaken econ- 
omy to refuse this means of extending our com- 
merce to the " other Americans,' ' who natu- 
rally, and Brazil in particular, are favourably 
inclined, and appreciate the fraternal tie of 
Americanism. 

Furthermore, it is necessary for American 
manufacturers to study the people and the mar- 
ket, more than has been done in the past. The 
Brazilians are particular what they buy, and 
want the best. They are not satisfied with just 
anything, as some seem to believe. Sometimes 
a change in established models might be profit- 
able — at least it would be wise to print labels 
and directions in Portuguese for the conven- 



A Land of Promise 



361 



ience of the people, as well as to please them by 
such a compliment. Travelling representatives 
should be sent who not only speak the language, 
but understand a little bit of the Latin nature, 
and their methods of doing business. It is not 
possible to transact business in the same way 
that it is done at home, for there are bound to 
be more delays. The European salesmen under- 
stand that and cater to it. If the business is 
worth cultivating at all it is worth working in 
the proper way to accomplish results. I also 
believe in the establishment of American houses 
for the sale of American goods. At present the 
greater part of the American goods shipped 
there are sold through foreign representatives, 
who also handle competing goods of other coun- 
tries for similar purposes. This, added to their 
natural preference, often leads to a secondary 
consideration being given to the goods of Uncle 
Sam. The packing system of American manu- 
facturers has also come in for a great deal of 
criticism, because the goods are not packed 
securely. It would be an object lesson to these 
same manufacturers if they could see the care 
with which European manufacturers pack their 
goods. Everything is done up with the greatest 
care to prevent breakage and damage, while 



362 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



American manufacturers pack their goods in 
the same way that they would for a short ship- 
ment in the States; not taking into considera- 
tion the longer, harder and rougher handling to 
which they are likely to be subjected. 

The volume of business in Brazil has reached 
large figures. The total imports for the year 
1909, as reported by the Brazilian government, 
amounted to $177,731,232. This is an average 
importation of $10.00 for each man, woman and 
child in the republic. American manufacturers 
look with longing eyes toward China with her 
teeming millions. And yet the four hundred 
millions of Chinese used less than twice the 
value of imported goods as compared with the 
eighteen millions of Brazilians. The low wages, 
and consequently low purchasing power of the 
masses of Chinese, will, for many decades, pre- 
vent that country from becoming a great per 
capita importer. If the coffee situation im- 
proves there will be a wonderful increase in 
Brazilian imports, for many improvements are 
withheld in the coffee states at the present time 
on that account. 

The exports for the same year were valued 
at $304,977,081. This leaves a trade balance in 
favour of Brazil of $127,245,849, which is a 



A Land of Promise 



363 



creditable showing, Some of the staple items 
of export are as follows: coffee, $167,375,850; 
rubber, $94,630,305 ; cacao, $9,000,000 ; tobacco, 
$9,696,685; hide, $9,097,705; mate (tea) $8,- 
288,935 ; nuts, $1,121,278. The total receipts of 
the government for 1909 amounted to about 
$150,000,000, of which $93,297,952 was realized 
from import duties and a small balance was left 
in the treasury. The estimates for the present 
year are about $150,000,000. The total federal 
foreign debt is reported to be $369,087,633.38. 
This does not include a considerable amount of 
guaranteed and floating debt of the national 
government. 

The system of raising revenue in Brazil is a 
perplexing and complex one as well. Some of 
the states have a very small land tax. It would 
be far better to increase this, and in that way 
force the breaking up of the immense estates 
to which some of the land is held. Instead of 
that, they resort to many petty little imposts to 
raise the necessary revenue. The principal one, 
of course, is an export duty on everything. 
Every one in the United States ought to take 
an interest in Brazil, for whoever drinks a cup 
of coffee or cocoa, eats the Brazil nuts, uses a 
bicycle, owns an automobile, wears rubber boots 



364 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



or mackintosh, has assisted in paying the run- 
ning expenses of one state or another, as well 
as that of the national government. Therefore 
it is well to take an intelligent interest in what 
we aid in supporting. 

The revenues of the national government are 
raised mostly by import duties. The most of 
these are levied by specific weight instead of 
ad valorem, so that sometimes articles which 
are heavy, but comparatively inexpensive, must 
pay a high duty. Then, in addition to regular 
duties, there are often special imposts levied 
for the construction of port works, or other 
public improvements. The states also have an 
export duty on everything sent out of the state, 
and sometimes even from one municipality to 
another. The farmer who hauls away a few 
bushels of beans or mandioca root must pay the 
export tax to the proper official, or stand a fine. 
All kinds of business are licensed. A merchant 
is sometimes obliged to pay a half dozen of 
these licenses, because of the different lines of 
goods carried. Each license permits the selling 
of certain specific goods. Then, in addition, 
there are stamp duties on all forms of commer- 
cial business, such as promissory notes, checks, 
drafts, receipts, etc. When you get a draft 



4 



A Land of Promise 



365 



cashed a receipt is duly made out by the bank, 
a revenue stamp put on it and receipted by the 
recipient. Every article manufactured in the 
country bears a revenue stamp, except, as in 
the case with cotton goods, for instance, when 
so much a meter is paid to the government. 
Their idea is that in this way they must make 
up for the loss of import duties, by reason of 
goods being manufactured in the country. An- 
other form of raising money is by giving out 
monopolies. In the city of Sao Paulo one man 
has the monopoly of the undertaking business. 
No one can get a burial permit until he has the 
consent of this man, which can only be obtained 
by paying him what his profit would probably 
be. This would depend on whether the funeral 
would be of the first, second or third class. The 
first-class funeral is very expensive, because it 
provides for a fine funeral car with four richly- 
caparisoned horses, two drivers and two foot- 
men in elaborate livery, many carriages, and all 
other requirements after the same expensive 
fashion. 

There are many lines of business that could 
be very profitably pursued, but it is necessary 
first to make a study of local conditions and 
requirements; and this can best be done by 



366 Brazil and Her People of To-day- 



having a representative on the ground. The 
local political leaders should be consulted, so 
that satisfactory arrangements can be made in 
the way of franchise or concession for the con- 
duct of business ; and especially is this true if 
the business to be conducted is manufacturing. 
All these preliminaries should be attended to 
before the investment is made. These same 
conditions apply to many of the Latin countries, 
because so many of their laws are local. It is 
best to understand the local conditions thor- 
oughly, and this can only be done by some one 
on the ground, and in touch with local condi- 
tions. After this is done the investment is safe, 
and in general these enterprises are encouraged 
in every way by the various state and municipal 
administrations. 

G-ermany and England are engaged in a war 
for commercial supremacy in South America, 
and the competition is very keen. In a financial 
sense England practically owns Argentina, and 
has investments there of about $2,000,000,000. 
In Brazil she has perhaps $650,000,000 invested 
in bonds and business enterprises. It is all in- 
vested in things that have helped to develop the 
resources, and much of it under government 
guarantee. Germany has not more than half 



A Land of Promise 



367 



as much money invested, but her representa- 
tives have been making serious inroads on the 
commerce of Great Britain. At the wharves 
and in the warehouses the boxes and bales with 
German marks on them seem to predominate. 
In the stores German goods are driving out 
British manufacturers, and it is this aggressive- 
ness that has developed the hatred of Germany 
one finds among Englishmen everywhere. The 
German caters to what he believes the Brazilian 
or the Argentinian wants. Some of the meth- 
ods pursued by German houses, however, are 
reprehensible. If an American or English arti- 
cle proves popular it will not be long until there 
will be a German imitation on the market, sim- 
ilar in style and make, at a little cheaper price. 
It will probably bear an English name too, in 
order to carry the deception still further. 
Brazil is impartial in her purchases, and opens 
her hospitable doors to the commerce of the 
world. If there is any leaning or favouritism, 
it is, I believe, in favour of the United States. 
The goods sold by European merchants we can 
sell if the effort is made. Trade here, as in 
other parts of the world, is secured by the firm 
who can sell the best goods at the least price, 
in the long run, and the German will lose out 



368 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



in some lines, because their quality is cheap the 
same as their price. 

The visit of Secretary Eoot and the battleship 
fleet did much to interest Brazilians in the 
United States ; the former by the tact and the 
charm of his personality, the latter by the inter- 
est shown in South America. The people are 
still talking about both events. Money was 
spent lavishly. The state of Sao Paulo spent 
$250,000 on the occasion of the Eoot visit. Our 
diplomatic representatives have also been im- 
proved, and it would be difficult to find a better 
man for the place than our Ambassador to 
Brazil, Hon. Irving B. Dudley. 

The Monroe Doctrine is hard for the South 
Americans to understand. They can not believe 
that it is an absolutely unselfish policy on the 
part of the United States, and it has undoubt- 
edly been the cause of much political " jingo- 
ism " among their politicians. Every instance 
in which our State Department interferes, or 
takes a stand in Latin-American politics, is 
greedily seized upon by some element, and is 
frequently fostered by foreigners, who fear 
American influence and trade competition. The 
fact that it is not a clearly-defined or definitely 
promulgated statement leaves it open to unfair 



A Land of Promise 369 



and unfavourable interpretation. Each person 
or country interprets it according to its own 
hopes or fears. The formidable strength of the 
United States and the recent policy of expan- 
sion has oftentimes caused the element of fear 
to predominate. In its best interpretation the 
Monroe Doctrine is rather like a big boy who 
makes himself a self-appointed guardian over 
the weaker one, which the latter does not want, 
and will not appreciate until he is in danger of 
a good whipping from a superior. It is better 
understood now than formerly, perhaps, but the 
atmosphere is still hazy when the Monroe Doc- 
trine is mentioned. Two incidents happened 
while I was in South America which enabled me 
to observe the trend of newspaper criticism 
concerning this little-understood policy of the 
United States. It is a grave question whether 
it has not done more harm to possible American 
supremacy in South America than benefit. 

" Order and Progress " is a good motto for 
any country. With order will come progress, 
and with progress order is more easily main- 
tained. The future is painted in rosy colours 
by Brazilian writers and statesmen. All rea- 
sonable deductions point that way. Natural re- 
sources are there, and the greatest need is for 



370 Brazil and Her People of To-day 



people to develop them. It is not an El Dorado, 
for nothing can be accomplished without work, 
thought, and planning. The latent ambition of 
the people has been aroused, and they are look- 
ing forward into the future. The United States 
can take a much larger part in the development 
of the country than she has in the past. It is 
the hope of the writer that such will be the case. 
The American business man can do far worse 
than to make a little study of this resourceful 
republic. The people are awaiting the Amer- 
ican merchant, manufacturer and banker ; they 
are seeking the American scientist, educator 
and expert in all lines ; and they will welcome 
the American traveller who is searching for a 
good opportunity of investment. 



APPENDICES 



i 

AREA AND POPULATION 

The statistics of area and population of the 
various states are widely divergent. One au- 
thority gives the total area as five million six 
hundred and eighty-two thousand four hundred 
and fifteen square miles, and the figures of pop- 
ulation range from fifteen million to twenty-two 
million. The figures herewith given are, in the 
writer's opinion, the most reliable, although the 
estimates of population are too high by perhaps 
ten per cent. The total population probably 
does not exceed eighteen million. The last 
census in 1900 gave the total number of inhabit- 
ants as a little less than fifteen million, but 
it was considered very inaccurate. The follow- 

371 



372 



Appendices 



ing table gives the estimated population in 
1909: — 



State 


Area 


Population 


Capital 


Inhabitants 


Alagoas . . . 


22,580 


744,193 


Maceio . . . 


40,000 


Amazonas . . 


732,250 


286,269 


Manaos . . . 


60,000 


Bahia .... 


164,600 


2,427,594 


Bahia . . . 


205,000 


Ceara .... 


40,240 


973,266 


Fortaleza . . 


48,360 


Espirito Santo . 


17,310 


240,452 


Victoria . . 


20,000 


Goyaz .... 


288,470 


292,605 


Goyaz . . . 


13,475 


Maranhao . . 


177,520 


572,304 


Sao Luiz . . 


50,000 


Matto Grosso 


532,550 


135,279 


Cuyaba . . 


25,000 


Minas Geraes 


221,890 


4,119,971 


Bello Hori- 


25,000 








zonte 


Par& 


443,790 


510,465 


Para (Belem) 


120,000 


Parahyba . . . 


28,850 


562,534 


Parahyba . . 


25,000 


Parand .... 


85,430 


374,961 


Curityba . . 


40,000 


Pprn si m V»n o c\ 

± CI LlcblllU \.L\^\J 


49,560 


1 350 391 


T-'prn £i m In l pn 


1 20 000 


Piauhy . . . . 


116,490 


383,205 


Therezina . . 


20,000 


Rio de Janeiro . 


26,630 


1,061,418 


Nictheroy 


40,000 


Rio Grande do 


22,190 


O 1 A A OA 

314,420 


JNatal . . . 


no AHA 

23,000 


Norte 




Rio Grande do 


91,250 


1,317,060 


Porto Alegre 


90,000 


Sul 


Santa Catharina 


28,620 


367,113 


Florianopolis 


30,000 


Sao Paulo . . 


112,280 


2,612,878 


Sao Paulo 


350,000 


Sergipe .... 


15,090 


408,348 


Aracaju . . 


25,000 


Federal District 


540 


855,920 


Rio de Ja- 


800,000 








neiro 




Acre 


114,600 


70,000 








3,332,730 


19,910,646 







II 



EDUCATION 

The educational facilities in all of the states 
are inadequate, as the statistics show, but in 



Appendices 



373 



some of them, they are not only inadequate but 
poor. The Ministry of Industry, Transporta- 
tion and Public Works has recently published 
a volume of general statistics, from which the 
following table has been compiled, the first three 
columns giving the figures for primary educa- 
tion, and remaining two columns relating to 
secondary education : — 



State 


Schools 


Enrolment 


Attend- 
ance 


Schools 


Enrolment 


Alagoas . . . 


271 


3,255 


10,959 


7 


837 


Amazonas . . 


250 


5,476 


4,495 


5 


452 


Bahia 


1,007 


47,288 


32,135 


24 


2,010 


Ceara .... 


382 


16,267 


12,982 


16 


1,183* 


Federal District 


419 


57,271 


36,106 


43 


4,662 


Espirito Santo . 


175 


6,359 


4,674 


6 


439 


Goyaz .... 


162 


6,134 


4,149 


4 


347 


Maranhao . . 


217 


11,941 


8,231 


9 


638 


Matto Grosso . 


107 


5,288 


4,677 


7 


466 


Minas Geraes . 


2,178 


119,613 


66,252 


51 


4,281 


Para .... 


433 


19,870 


17,093 


11 


938 


Parahyba . . . 


223 


9,870 


6,852 


7 


527 


Parang .... 


309 


13,566 


10,640 


7 


483 


Pernambuco 


386 


21,139 


15,104 


17 


1,613 


Piauhy .... 


146 


7,754 


6,030 


6 


438 


Rio de Janeiro . 


485 


24,773 


16,075 


14 


1,486 


Rio Grande do 












Norte . . . 


152 


7,601 


6,547 


5 


378 


Rio Grande do 












Sul .... 


1,516 


67,370 


50,809 


26 


3,605 


S^Catharina 


376 


14,159 


10,535 


9 


905 


Sao Paulo . . 


1,708 


82,089 


61,066 


46 


4,146 


Sergipe .... 


245 


8,839 


5,797 


7 


419 




11,147 


565,922 


991,188 


327 


30,258 



374 



Appendices 



III 

THE AMAZON" BASIN 

It may be interesting to the reader to take 
a brief survey of the Amazon and its tribu- 
taries. It will, at least, give a little idea of this 
vast river system, which is the most marvellous 
in the world. 

Tocantins. This river empties into the 
Amazon near its mouth, and some have disputed 
its right to be named as an affluent of that river. 
James Orton says this river " flows over a bed 
of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topazes and 
opals " on its way to the sea. With its 
branches, the Maranhao and Araguay, it 
reaches out in a southerly direction for hun- 
dreds of miles, and carries an immense volume 
of water. 

Xingu. " The Xingu," says an eminent au- 
thority, " receives fourteen tributaries on its 
right and sixteen tributaries on its left bank, 
the principal of which is the Iriri." Any of 
these feeders would be considered large rivers 
in any part of Europe. 

Tapajoz. The source of this river is in the 
great state of Matto Grosso, where it is formed 



Appendices 



375 



by the union of the Arinos and Juruena. It is 
eight hundred and twelve miles in length, but it 
is interrupted by a number of cataracts. In 
some places the width of the Tapajoz is as 
great as ten miles, but where it joins the Ama- 
zon it is only a trifle more than a mile from 
shore to shore. Santareni, an ancient Indian 
village, is situated on this river near its mouth, 
and has now grown into a town of several thou- 
sand inhabitants. 

Madeira. One of the largest of the rivers 
which flow into the Amazon is the Madeira, 
which means the river of wood, owing to the 
number of uprooted trees which float along its 
course. At low water these trees are oftentimes 
thrown up on the sand banks, where they ac- 
cumulate in great masses. It is formed by a 
number of Peruvian and Bolivian streams. 
This river is said to have a course of three 
thousand one hundred and twenty-five miles, 
most of which is navigable for small boats at 
least. 

Pur us. This river is more than a mile wide 
at its mouth and has an entire length of two 
thousand two hundred and eighty miles. Even 
in the dry season it is navigable for almost a 
thousand miles. A dozen or more rivers empty 



376 



Appendices 



their contents into this stream, the names of 
which are known to bnt few, and yet they are 
goodly rivers in themselves. 

Jurua, There is a regular service of steam- 
ers up the Jurua for nine hundred and 
thirty-eight miles of its one thousand two hun- 
dred and fifty miles. This river was known 
to the early discoverers, and had been fully 
explored nearly four centuries ago by those 
adventurers. 

Japura. Yapura and Yapuru are other 
names of this river which serves as a boundary 
between Brazil and Colombia for a distance. 
A regular service of steamers is maintained 
on it also for several hundred miles. 

Rio Negro. The Negro, or Black River is 
one of the principal arms of the Amazon. It 
is more than a thousand miles in length and is 
one of the largest rivers in this basin. It is 
joined to the Amazon by four mouths, the 
broadest of which exceeds a mile in width. 
Through the Cassigueare this river is put into 
direct communication with the Orinoco River, 
which flows north into the Atlantic. There is 
a stretch of several miles, where the water, at 
times, flows into the Atlantic through the Ama- 
zon, and at others through the Orinoco. The 



Appendices 



377 



Rio Branco, the White River, is the principal 
tributary of the Rio Negro. 

From the Peruvian Andes to its mouth the 
Amazon is three thousand seven hundred and 
fifty miles long, of which two thousand five hun- 
dred miles are in Brazil. Fair sized steamers 
can sail up the river three thousand two hun- 
dred and fifty miles, and boats of lighter draft 
can go up another one hundred and fifty miles. 
It would be wearisome to name all the various 
affluents of this king of waters, for they are 
legion. The names are interesting, if one looks 
at the meaning, for they are nearly all Indian 
names. Thus the Carapauatuba is the " spot 
abounding in mosquitoes,' ' the Gyrparana is 
the " river of the axe," the Jacare the " river 
of alligators " and the Guariba is the " shriek- 
ing monkey.' ' 

IV 

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS 

The Portuguese language is universally used 
in Brazil. Although very similar to Spanish 
it is difficult for the Spanish linguist to under- 
stand unless well versed in that tongue, for the 
ear will not readily catch the difference in the 
sounds. The money is the same as the Portu- 



378 



Appendices 



guese system also, with the milreis as the unit. 
It is better in travelling through South Amer- 
ica to carry your exchange in English pounds, 
for all exchange is figured on that basis ; other- 
wise American dollars are converted into 
pounds and then again into the money of the 
country, and the traveller is likely to pay a 
double exchange. 

Railroad travel in Brazil is rather high, and 
you are allowed no free baggage. If you have 
a large trunk it will cost you almost as much 
to carry it as for your own ticket. It is well 
to reduce your baggage to a minimum in all of 
South America. The service on most of the 
roads is quite good; the cars are very com- 
fortable, being built on the American plan. The 
most disagreeable feature is the dust at times, 
and it is well to choose a day following a rain 
if such a thing is possible, and provide yourself 
with a good dust coat. Good boats run several 
times a week between Pernambuco, Bahia, Bio 
de Janeiro and Santos, and smaller coasting 
boats touch at the smaller ports. If the travel- 
ler is going to Argentina it is well to purchase 
a through ticket, otherwise a $10.00 tax is 
charged by the government for every ticket that 
carries one out of the country. It costs noth- 



Appendices 379 



ing to get in the country, but $10.00 to get out, 
providing the ticket is bought there. 

Comfortable hotels will be found in the cities 
with a minimum rate of about $3.00 per day 
for everything. Only coffee is served in the 
morning, but the other two meals are very sub- 
stantial ones with an overabundance of meats. 
They are very cleanly in general, with good 
bath accommodations. A few of the hotels have 
elevators, but most of them do not. Cab 
charges are high. Although they are limited 
by law, it is always best to find out the proper 
charge beforehand and not trust to the driver's 
conscience, for he may not have any. The 
prices at the stores are generally elastic too, 
so that a good bargainer is right in his element. 

Have your mail plainly and carefully ad- 
dressed. Do not use the word " Esq.," as it 
is likely to be considered a part of the name. 
In Brazil city directories are indexed according 
to the first name. Thus John Smith would be 
found under " J " and not under " S." The 
postage on a letter is now two hundred reis (six 
cents) for each half ounce and a post card is 
one half that sum. The mail service is generally 
pretty sure but oftentimes very slow, as I found 
out by experience. 



380 



Appendices 



In nearly all of Brazil light-weight clothing 
may be worn all the year round. A light over- 
coat is almost necessary, and in the extreme 
southern part heavier clothing would be com- 
fortable in the winter time. It is well to remem- 
ber that the seasons below the equator are the 
opposite of those in northern latitudes. 

If the traveller has the time it is an interest- 
ing trip to go to Buenos Aires and see that 
wonderful city, and then across the Andes by 
the railroad, which has now been finished, to 
Chile. It is only a three days' voyage from 
Santos to Montevideo and a night's trip from 
there across the river to Buenos Aires. From 
Valparaiso comfortable steamers run to Pan- 
ama, and the traveller can visit the several 
republics on the west coast. Furthermore this 
trip affords an opportunity to visit Panama 
and see the great work that is being done there. 
From Buenos Aires the return trip to New 
York can be made by this route in less time than 
by Europe or by the direct steamers. 



Appendices 



381 



V 

BIBLIOGKAPHY 

Many books have been published on Brazil 
in times past, but very few have been devoted 
to that country in the past quarter of a century. 
The recent books have nearly all been descrip- 
tions of a circular tour of South America in 
one volume. For the benefit of the reader, who 
desires to make a further study of this inter- 
esting republic, a list of those books which have 
been found most interesting by the writer, is 
herewith given : — 

. Agassiz, Louis : A Journey to Brazil. Boston, 1868. 

Akers, Charles Edmond: A History of South America, 
1854-1904. London, 1904. 

Bates, Henry Walter : The Naturalist on the river Ama- 
zon. London, 1864. 
« Brown, C. Barrington: Fifteen Thousand Miles on the 
Amazon and its Tributaries. London, 1878. 

Carpenter, Frank G. : South America: social, industrial 
and political. Akron, Ohio, 1900. 

Clark, Francis E. : The Continent of Opportunity. New 
York, 1907. 

Curtis, William Eleroy : The Capitals of Spanish America. 

New York, 1888. 
Dawson, Thomas C. : The South American Republics. 

New York, 1903. 
' Ewbank, Thomas: Life in Brazil. New York, 1856. 



382 



Appendices 



Fletcher, James C. and D. P. Kidder: Brazil and the 

Brazilians. Boston, 1866. 
, Gibbon, Lardner and Wm. L. Herndon: Exploration of 

the Valley of the Amazon. Washington, 1854. 
Hale, Albert: The South Americans. Indianapolis, 1907. 
Keane, A. H. : South America; comprising a volume of 

Stanford's compendium of geography and travel. 

London, 1901. 

• Kerbey, J. Orton : The Land of To-morrow. A newspaper 
exploration up the Amazon and over the Andes. New 
York, 1906. 

Markwick, W. Fisher: The South American Republics. 

New York, 1901. 
Martin, Percy F. : Through Five Republics of South 

America. London, 1906. 
Mathews, Edward D. : Up the Amazon and Madeira Rivers. 

London, 1879. 

Orton, James : The Andes and the Amazon ; or, Across the 

Continent of South America. New York, 1870. 
Ruhl, Arthur: The Other Americans. New York, 1907. 
" Santa Anna Nery, Federico: The Land of the Amazons. 

Translated from the French. London, 1901. 
Smith, Herbert H. : Brazil, the Amazons and the coast. 

New York, 1879. 
" Southey, Robert: A History of Brazil. London, 1817. 
Spruce, Robert: Notes of a Botanist on the Andes and 

Amazon, during years 1849-1864. London, 1908. 
Tucker, Hugh C. : The Bible in Brazil. New York, 1902. 
Vincent, Frank: Around and About South America. New 

York, 1890. 

Wells, James W. : Exploring and Travelling Three Thousand 

Miles through Brazil. London, 1886. 
Wetmore, Claude H. : In a Brazilian Jungle. Boston, 1903. 
Wright, Marie Robinson : The New Brazil ; its Resources 

and Attractions. Philadelphia, 1907. 



INDEX 



Acre, territory of, 179, 254, 
348. 

Agassiz, Louis, 187 
Agriculture, 126, 354. 
Agricultural colleges, 225. 
Alagoas, state of, 42. 
Alta da Serra, 80. 
Amazon, the, 7, 164 et seq., 

354, 375. 
Amazonas, state of, 6, 188, 

333. 

Ambition of Brazilians, 209. 
Americans, 115, 209, 222, 225, 

240, 245, 253, 342, 344, 356, 

360. 
Americanos, 1. 

American Ambassador, 82, 
324. 

American Bible Society, work 
of, 297. 

American colony, 134. 

Anchieta, Jose, 292. 

Andes, the, 4, 378. 

Anglican Church, 301. 

Ants, 173. 

Ant hills, 111. 

Ant-bear, 169. 

Aracaju, 42. 

Araguary, 244. 

Architecture, 231-4. 

Area of Brazil, 371. 

Argentina, Republic of, 281. 

Arid land, 43-4. 

Aristocracy, 206. 

Army, the, 277-9. 

Ascuncion, capital of Para- 
guay, 163. 



Automobiles, 66, 111. 
Avenida Central, 53, 63, 277. 

Bage, 249. 

Bahia, city of, 20, 28-36, 194, 
293, 308, 323; bay of, 30; 
state of, 39. 

Bamboos, 84. 

Baptist Church, 301. 

Barbosa, Ruy, 230, 351. 

Barra do Pirahy, 110. 

Bauru, 247. 

Beef, salted, 157-9. 

Beira Mar, Avenida, 53, 55. 

Belem, 109. 

Belem (Para), 181. 

Bello Horizonte, 96. 

Bibliography, 382. 

Bilac, Olavo, 229. 

Birds, 171. 

Bolivia, Republic of, 254, 348. 

Bombilla, 150. 

" Bonds," 72. 

Botanical Garden, 82-5. 

Brazil, vastness of, 2; boun- 
daries of, 4; history of, 19, 
323 et seq.; kingdom of, 314; 
empire of, 323; republic 
of, 14, 16, 334 et seq. 

Brazil nuts, 175. 

Brazil-wood, 305. 

Buenos Aires, 162, 250, 381. 

Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, 19, 304. 
Cacao, 255. 
Caju, the, 3. 
Campinas, 125, 262. 



383 



384 



Index 



Camocim, 253. 

Campos Salles, Manoel Ferraz 

de, 346. 
Cannibalism, 190, 192. 
Capitaincias, 20, 307. 
Capricorn, Tropic of, 2, 142. 
Carioca Aqueduct, 58. 
Carriages, 65. 
Carigadores, 65, 112. 
Carbonados, 108. 
Carnival, 211. 
Catamaran boats, 25. 
Caxias, Duke of, 58. 
Ceara, state and city of, 44, 

253, 333. 
Central Railway, 95, 100, 109, 

239 

Chile, Republic of, 281. 
Church, Catholic, 287 et seq. 
Climate, 11, 354. 
Coast, extent of, 4. 
Coal, 160. 

Coffee, Cultivation of, 63, 95, 
102, 110, 127, 131, 144, 
203-7, 243, 257, 260 et seq.; 
picking of, 267; commis- 
sion houses, 270; produc- 
tion of, 274. 

" Coffee King," the, 129. 

Colors, bright, 32, 70. 

Colonies, government, 122. 

Conservatives, the, 327. 

Constant, Benjamin, 335. 

Congress, 71, 207, 321, 338. 

Conveyances, 111. 

Cortez, the, of Portugal, 316, 
318 

Corcovado, 4, 79, 88-9. 

Cotton, 27. 

Cotton mills, 94. 

Courtesy, 199. 

Cow tree, 85. 

Cubras, Braz, 143. 

Curytiba, 146, 147. 

Customs, 52, 60, 62, 64, 111, 

199 et seq., 276, 315. 
Cuya, the, 150. 
Cuyaba, 161. 



Deodora da Fonseca, Presi- 
dent, 336, 339. 
Diaz, Goncalves, the poet, 228. 
Diamantina, 241. 
Diamonds, 103-8. 
Diseases, 13. 
Docks, 57. 

Dom Pedro I, 58, 118, 315 et 

seq. 

Dom Pedro II, 1, 324 et seq. 
Dreadnaughts, new, 284. 
Dumont Fazenda, 132. 
Dust, 111. 

Dutch, settlements of, 21, 26, 
309. 

Easter, 297. 

Education, 241 et seq., 286, 
373. 

Elections, 211, 352. 
English language, 116, 221. 
England, 366. 
Entre Rios, 95. 
Equator, the, 23. 
Espirito Santo, state of, 251, 
252. 

Estacio de Sa, 50. 

Eu, Countess d', 328, 331, 337. 

Exposition, 73. 

Exports, 358, 362. 

Export tax, 273. 

Expensiveness of living, 355. 

Farinha, 94. 

Fazenderos, 126, 194. 

Fazenda da Lapa, 126. 

Federal District, 72. 

Feigo Padre, 323. 

Festas, 211. 

Fish, 61, 169. 

Fiscal Island, 79. 

Floriano Peixota, President, 

280, 339, 340. 
Florianapolis, 151. 
Flumenense, 49. 
Fortaleza, 45, 253. 
France, 205. 
Fruits, 60, 126. 



Index 



385 



Gambling, 117. 

Germans in Brazil, 147, 152, 

159, 366. 
German Lutheran Church, 301 . 
Gold Mining, 100-2. 
Goncalves Diaz, 53. 
Goyaz, state of, 244. 
Graft, 204, 327. 
Granberry College, 223, 300. 
Grass, 71. 

Great Western Railway, 252. 
Guayra, falls of, 11. 
Guianas, the, 4. 

Hermes da Fonseca, Marshal, 
351. 

Hevea rubber, 183. 
History, 58, 98, 118, 304 et 
seq. 

Holidays, 211. 
Hospitals, 59. 
Hotels, 380. 
Houses, 32, 34. 
Huguenots, the, 20, 308. 
Humming birds, 86, 171. 

Iguassu, falls and river of, 9, 
248. 

Ilex Paraguayensis, 148-50. 
Illiteracy, 214. 
Immigration, 120, 353. 
Imports, 358, 362. 
Import duties, 355. 
Independence, 317. 
Indians, 176, 190, 192; re- 
ligion of, 287-291. 
Infants, hospital for, 59. 
Insects, 119, 172. 
Instituto Agronomico, 126. 
Inspectors, 209. 
Iquitos, 8, 179. 
Iron, 102. 
Italians, 111, 122. 
Itagajti, 77. 
Itayira, 9. 
Itatiaca, Mt., 5. 

Jaguar, the, 167. 



Japura River, 377. 
Jardim Botanico, 83. 
Jesuits, the, 20, 288; 310. 
John, King, of Portugal, 21, 

313-5. 
Juiz de Fora, 95, 300. 
Jundiahy, 246, 256. 
Jurua River, 377. 

Lagoa dos Patos, 153. 
Lane, Horace M., 222. 
La Plata River, 161. 
Leopoldina Railway, the, 95, 
250. 

Liberals, the, 327. 
Literature, 227-9. 
Lloyd Brazilian Co., 19. 
Lopez, the Paraguayan dic- 
tator, 325. 
Lotteries, 52, 116. 
Luz station, 258. 

Maceio, 42, 252. 
Mackenzie College, 222. 
Madeira-Mamore Railway, the, 
253-6. 

Madeira River, 8, 185, 254, 376. 

Mammao, 36, 37. 

Manaos, 12, 170, 178, 183, 189. 

Mango, the, 36. 

Manicoba Rubber, 45. 

Mangue, Avenida do, 56. 

Mandioca, 93. 

Manganese, 103. 

Manatee, the " river cow," 170. 

Marmosette monkeys, 37. 

Markets, 60. 

Maranhao, state of, 253, 323; 

river, 245. 
Matto Grosso, 6, 161-3, 247. 
Mate, 148-150. 
Matosinhos, shrine of, 296. 
Maua, the, 53. 
Mello, Admiral, 280, 341. 
Methodist Episcopal Church 

South, 81, 300. 
Military service, 278, 



386 



Index 



Minas Geraes~ 95 et seq., 110, 

240, 280, 311. 
Mining, 100 et seq. 
Missionaries, Jesuit, 288; 

Protestant, 290. 
Mogyana Railway, the, 127, 

243. 

Monroe Doctrine, 368. 

Monroe Palace, 53, 54. 

Montevideo, 381. 

Money, Brazilian, 37. 

Monkeys, 61, 168. 

Monte Alegre plantation, 129. 

Moraes Barros, Prudente Jose 

de, 344. 
Monro do Castillo, 50. 
Morro Velho mine, 102. 
Morality, 201. 
Mountains, 5, 8, 92, 109. 
Municipal Theatres, 118, 233. 
Museums, 71, 119. 

Natal, 44, 252. 

National Library, 71. 

Navy, the, 280: revolt of, 

280-5, 341. 
Negroes, 32-4, 194-7, 311; 

religion of, 288. 
Negro, Rio, 8. 

Nervousness of Brazilians, 64. 
New York, 23. 
Newspapers, 67, 116, 230. 
Niagara, Comparison with, 9. 
Nictheroy, 77, 251. 
Normal School, 220. 
Northwestern Railway, the, 
247. 

Norte- Americanos, 1. 
November, 15th of, 60. 
Novo Friburgo, 91. 

Old Rio, 74. 
Opinion, public, 210. 
Oranges, 36. 
Orchids, 86. 
Ordem e Progreso, 17. 
Ouro Preto, 98, 100. 
Ouvidor Rua, 52, 64. 



Palm, the, 36, 81, 83, 174-5. 
Panama, lesson of, 13. 
Pan American Conference, 55 
Pan American Railway, the, 
247. 

Para, state of, 179; city of, 12, 

180-3, 254, 294, 323. 
Paraguayan war, 282, 325. 
Paraguay River, 8, 161-2. 
Paraguay tea, 148-150. 
Parana River, 8. 
Parana, state of, 6, 12, 147-9. 
Paranagua, 145, 146. 
Parahyba River, 95, 111. 
Parahyba, state of, 43. 
Parasites, 86. 
Parks, 57. 

PclITOt/ s 171 

Paulistas, the, 20, 193, 291, 
310. 

Paulista Railway, the, 125, 
242. 

Paulo Affonso Falls, 46-7. 
Pecanha, Dr. Nilo, 350. 
Pelotas, 153, 157. 
Penna, Dr. Affonso, 97, 344. 
People, the, 92, 192 et seq. 
Pernambuco, 20, 25-7, 33, 
252, 306; state of, 27, 260. 
Peru, 254. 

Petropolis, 78-81, 91, 300. 

Pianos, 65. 

Piauhy, 45. 

Pine, 147. 

Piracicaba, 246. 

Plains, 6. 

Politics, 203-6, 352. 
Police, 66. 

Polytechnic School, 220. 
Ponta Grossa, 10, 146, 248. 
Population, 371. 
Portugal, 50, 304. 
Portuguese, the, 20, 198. 
Porto Alegre, 153, 159, 249. 
Presbyterian Church, 301. 
Press, the, 230. 
Protestant churches, 299 et 
seq. 



Index 



387 



Protestant Episcopal Church, 
301. 

Piirus River, 376. 

Railways, 161, 236 et seq, 379. 

Rain, 69, 177. 

Rainfall, 7. 

Recife, 25-7. 

Red soil, 128. 

Religion, 191, 287 et seq. 

Revolution, 146. 

Revenue, sources of, 263-5. 

Rhododendrons, 81. 

Riberao Preto, 125, 128. 

Rice, 146. 

Rio de Janeiro, 11, 41, 48 
et seq., 234, 283, 301, 309, 
311; state of, 77, 251; bay 
of, 77, 89. 

Rio Grande do Norte, 25, 43. 

Rio Grande do Sul, 153, 325, 
340; state of, 6, 12, 16, 152 
et seq., 279. 

Rio Negro, 179, 377. 

Rio de la Plata, 7. 

Rio Vermelho, 35. 

Rivers, 7. 

Rodrigues Alves, Francisco 

de Paulo, 347. 
Roman Catholic, 222. 
Root, Secretary, 139, 368. 
Rubber, 133, 178, 180, 183-7, 

255; trees, 85. 

Saldanha de Gama, Admiral, 

280, 341. 
Salt, 44. 

Salted meats, 61 . 

Santa Maria and Uruguay 

Railway, the, 249. 
Santo Antonio, 254. 
Santa Catherina, 151. 
San Roque, Cape of, 3, 25. 
San Sebastian, 50. 
Santa Theresa, convent of, 88. 
Santos, 143-5, 256, 307. 
Sao Paulo, state of, 109 et seq., 

196, 262, 279, 334. 



Sao Paulo Railway, the, 125, 
142, 256-8. 

Sao Paulo-Rio Grande Rail- 
way, the, 248. 

Sao Francisco River, 45-7. 

Sao Salvador, 29. 

Schmidt, Francisco, 129. 

Senador Pompeu, 253. 

Serra do Mar, 5, 88, 146, 258. 

Sergipe, state of, 42. 

Shipping, 182. 

Shrines, 295. 

Slavery, 195; abolishment of, 

330-4. 
Sloth, 168. 

Smith, Clinton D., 225. 
Snakes, 174. 
Society, 82. 
Solimoes River, 178. 
Sorocobana Railway, the, 245. 
South America, republics of, 4. 
Spain, 309. 
Spaniards, 21. 
State militia, 279. 
Statistics, 371-4. 
Steamers, 236. 
Stones, precious, 103-8. 
Subsidies, 207. 
Sugar Loaf, 41, 50, 89. 
Suggestions for travellers, 378. 
Sunset, 24. 

Sunday in Brazil, 297. 
Survey, lack of, 6. 

Tapajoz River, 179, 375. 
Tapioca, 94. 

Taubate agreenaent, 273. 
Temperate zone, 159. 
Temperature, 11. 
Terra Roxa, 128, 263. 
Theatres, 68, 233. 
Therezopolis, 91. 
Therizina, 45. 
Tiete River, 9, 116, 247. 
Tijuca, 79, 83, 87. 
Timber, 124, 187-8, 251. 
Tiradentes, 98, 313. 
Tocantins River, 179, 375. 



# 



Index 



388 



Toucan, 171. 
Tramways, 72. 
Transformation of Rio, 68. 
Treasury, 67. 
Tropical vegetation, 86. 
Tropical jungle, 164-7. 
Turtles, 170. 
Turkey-buzzards, 178. 

Uberaponga, falls of, 11. 
Undeveloped resources, 124. 
United States, 13, 338, 358, 
360. 

Uruguay, 160, 250; war with, 
320. 

Uruguay River, 8, 161. 
Uruguayana, Rua, 56. 
Urubuhunga, falls of, 9. 

Valorization, coffee, 272. 



Vasari, the, 23, 360. 
Vegetation, 70. 
Vespucci, Amerigo, 305. 
Victoria, 251, 252. 
Victoria Regia lily, 86. 
Villa Americana, 134. 
Vines, 166. 

Watercourses, 7. 
Waterfalls, 8, 46. 
Water power, 124. 
Whaling, 27. 
Women, 64, 71, 202-4. 

Xarque, 157. 
Xavier, Joachim, 98. 
Xingu River, 179, 375. 

Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation, 302. 
Ypiranga, 58, 118. 



V 4 




*3f 



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